The Darkest Nights
by Ziirroh
Summary: There are Humans and there are Faunus, then there are the Cursed. Folk who have the potential to become the very monsters they fight. Ruby Rose has been cursed with a Grimm since birth. Within her body is a constant struggle for control. She hopes that she can keep her curse hidden from others, but some nights it overcomes her.
1. Prologue

**Edit [02/14/16]: Grammar fixes and minor tweaks.**

* * *

**Prologue**

Grimm, the creatures of darkness; monsters of destruction. Soulless entities that thrive to eliminate man from existence.

When man was born from dust, these harbingers of fear sought to destroy everything and anything that pertained to mankind.

However, man was persistent and passionate.

Using their resourcefulness, mankind forged a new power to combat the darkness. Dubbing this newfound force of nature as 'Dust'.

Now equipped to defeat and defend from the Grimm, man was able to create a temporary peace, build civilizations, and most importantly continue living.

Of course this did not come without repercussion, for the Grimm were just as resourceful.

It is lost in the history of mankind when or how the first event occurred, but the Grimm became capable of infecting their darkness into a person. As if in retaliation to their dwindling numbers, the Grimm evolved to remedy the loss.

Humans and Faunus alike could be cursed. Over time they would lose all sense of self and become a creature of destruction. Although man was persistent, and able to weaken the curse, it could never truly be eliminated.

Those infected with the darkness were simply labelled as 'Cursed'. Cursed ones often displayed traits specific to those Grimm they were cursed by. Growing bone like masks over their faces, eyes glowing crimson, and sometimes a black cloud would surround them.

Depending on which creature they took after, a Cursed one could behave similarly to its animalistic ways.

There are various ways in which one could become Cursed.

The most common way to receive it is through a bite.

Though wounds inflicted by claw, tusk, stinger, and other such methods are not capable of cursing a person.

Due to the manner it is received, those who are bitten are able to have the effects of a curse counteracted with the help of modern medicine and Dust, if they are treated within a certain time frame.

Another method, which a person could become Cursed, is through the literal sense of the word. It does not happen often, unlike getting bit, and so it is considered a rare case.

Grimm that are not able to bite are more likely to use this approach. This form of the curse is actually easier to control, as there isn't any actual darkness within the person's body. However they often display having a weaker Aura than average, making them more susceptible to Grimm attacks.

A final process for becoming cursed is even rarer than the previously mentioned methods. It only occurs when new life is introduced into the world, though the effects aren't immediately noticeable.

A child born with the curse; dubbed Grimm-born, is birthed with a body housing a being with a soul, and one without. The two often clashing for ownership of the vessel.

A Grimm-born's strife often ends undesirably for the child of Dust.

In the archives of history, there has never been any record of a Grimm-born that has overcome the dark creature within.

Often, tales of that kind would end with the Grimm usurping control over the shared vessel, or the body being destroyed by the two conflicting hosts.

Grimm-born children have been feared, as they are seen as a monster worse than the creatures of Grimm themselves.

There is worry that the strength one has when their Grimm-like qualities come to the surface then provide the Grimm with an aura they can use against mankind.

With this fear there came lack of reason. With this lack of reason, man believed that the best 'cure' for a Grimm-born should be death.

It was not unreasonable, then, for a young mother to want to protect her child from such dangers.

When Summer Rose had discovered her young daughter, Ruby Rose, to be a Grimm-born she was fearful.

Not of her child, but rather _for_ her.

She was aware that the rest of the world would see her daughter as a monster.

Not wanting the government to discover Ruby and take matters into their own hands, she came to the decision to hide.

After much debate with her husband, Taiyang, and their elder child, Yang, they eventually came to an agreement.

Summer would take Ruby with her to an old family cabin, secluded in a forested area far from their home town on the island Patch, raising her until she was able to control the creature inside.

For years the two lived relatively in peace, with rare visits from Yang and Taiyang.

Ruby was, for the most part, able to keep the creature within her from surfacing.

However, on certain nights the curse seemed stronger, as Ruby would be unable to contain the beast any longer.

It was on one such night that Ruby's view of the world changed, and it was one of the many reasons she chose the life of a Huntress.

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****A/N: So, this is an AU a friend had created a while back on tumblr. I took an interest in it and promised to write something for it. Then I kinda forgot about it for a while, until a tumblr post of us conversing the idea reminded me of it. It would be nice to see my friend's AU gain more notice. Of course I would love to hear feedback on what readers think of this AU, since it's just a newborn concept. ****

****Not sure how often I will update this since I've got other series going on, and then there's life. So if you are interested please be patient with me.****

****So yeah. Reviews are appreciated and thank you for taking the time to read this.****


	2. A Night to Look Forward To?

**A/N: Okay, you have been patient with me, I truly appreciate that. So I tried my best to make this chapter's word limit longer than I usually write. I think my highest was somewhere around 3k words, but I'd have to say my average is prolly 2k. This one hits a lil over 5k words, yey. I think I'll try to make each chapter stay around that amount, since I'm gonna make ya'll wait forever for each update. Please tell me how I did, and if anything should be altered if something doesn't seem quite right.**

**Edit [02/14/16]: Grammar fixes and considerable tweaks to make the chapter more consistent.**

* * *

The moon hung high in the night sky, its shattered pieces somewhat fading to blend with the inky darkness surrounding it.

Ruby sat on the ledge of the large window that dominated the area between team RWBY's bunk beds.

It was mesmerizing to her, watching the moon fall apart like that.

For any other person it probably wouldn't have garnered much interest, but for Ruby the moon served as an important memento.

Closing her eyes, she sighed in content at this peaceful moment, enjoying the stillness and the light snoring of her sleeping teammates.

It had been nearly a year now since team RWBY had formed on that fateful initiation day.

Together the girls had progressed considerably in their strength and knowledge, though there was still much more to be acquired.

Ruby had grown out of her juvenile behavior, for the most part.

She had matured in many ways, but still liked to retain bits of innocence, before it would come to a time where it no longer exist.

As a leader she knew she would have to set aside her wants for the needs of others, but if she could help it, she'd make some things last.

Hearing a strangled snort, Ruby looked up to her sister's bunk. The first thing she noticed was the mess of blonde curls that cascaded over the edge of the bunk.

Yang laid sprawled out on her bed, somehow comfortable even though the sheets and pillows had been mostly kicked off.

Ruby took her soft snoring as a sign that she still remained oblivious to the environment around her.

She directed her gaze toward the bed below.

Blake's feline ears could be seen, outlined by the illumination from the moon.

Ever since the team had found out about her Faunus heritage, Blake had felt more comfortable removing her bow while in their room.

Other than team JNPR, no one else in the academy was aware of it.

One of her ears twitched ever so slightly, as one of Yang's snores became particularly loud. Ruby always found it adorable when Blake's ears did that.

Finally her gaze rested upon the final member of team RWBY.

Long silvery tresses were a beacon in the dark room, the moonlight giving it a seemingly luminescent glow.

Weiss laid facing towards Ruby, so it allowed her to be able to study the older girl's features, without the worry of a callous remark from the icy heiress.

She first observed Weiss' neck, noting the well-defined collarbones under her perfect skin.

It was quite the scandal.

At least that's what Yang said when she was teasing the pale girl one day.

The memory made Ruby smile.

Yang could say the silliest things sometimes.

Ruby then regarded Weiss' lips.

They weren't ever covered in lipstick, at least not from what Ruby could tell. The tone was always a healthy paleness that only seemed suitable for Weiss.

She saw Weiss' lips twitch slightly before forming a small smile.

Perhaps she was having a pleasant dream.

That's good.

Traveling further up still, Ruby observed the single scar that marred Weiss' otherwise perfect complexion.

Ruby had never viewed it as an unsightly mark.

To her it was proof that Weiss wasn't just some pushover, and took her career as a Huntress seriously.

In fact, Ruby deduced it as being some kind of a memento to her partner, as the moon was a memento for herself.

For what it would remind Weiss of, she wasn't sure, but it made Ruby remember that Huntsmen and Huntresses were not immortal.

That if she screwed up as a leader on an actual mission it wouldn't be the only scar to mark the girl.

Without really thinking about it, Ruby moved off the window sill and quietly approached Weiss' bed, taking a seat at the edge of it.

The pale girl stirred somewhat as the bed shifted to accommodate Ruby's weight, the unknown intrusion making the girl frown slightly, but she remained asleep.

Ruby ran her fingers through the snowy locks of hair, gently, so not to awaken her.

Weiss' hair was incredibly soft, and as Ruby would let the strands slip through her fingers she pretended she was touching silk.

The glow it maintained from the moonlight's gleam was entrancing, making Ruby imagine that she could be holding stardust.

Something that was so rare and precious, that if she were to look away it would disappear.

Not Weiss though.

She would never abandon them just like that.

Ruby hummed a lullaby quietly to herself as she watched Weiss relax into the caress with a soft sigh.

However the calming moment would not last, as a familiar presence gripped at Ruby's chest.

Immediately recoiling her hand from Weiss, she stood up and moved away from the bed quickly.

Panting heavily, Ruby grasped at the tightness in her chest vainly.

_No, no, NO. Not right now! _

She nearly growled aloud as she struggled with the haze beginning to blanket her mind.

Rushing over to the small bathroom located near her bunk, Ruby quickly closed the door with a quiet click before turning on the light.

Her first action was to look into the mirror over the sink.

In the reflection Ruby saw herself, but she could see that was not entirely herself.

Her hair had grown a bit longer than its usual length, gaining a darker shade that covered up the red streaks at the tips.

Her silver eyes also had a reddish tint to them, which only seem to be spreading the more she looked at them.

Upon seeing her image her anxiety increased, causing the process to speed up slightly.

She then saw her teeth gradually becoming more pointed, as they were turning into sharp fangs.

In her mind she felt another being prodding at her thoughts, seemingly asking for permission to be let in.

_We are not doing this now. We've been over this! _

Ruby hissed at her own reflection, bearing some spite towards the thing trying to take over.

Closing her eyes she concentrated on her breathing, slowly counting from ten as she had been taught.

Soon the other presence left, and shortly after her heart rate began to slow.

After repeating the routine a few times she felt the tightness in her chest loosen, and her breathing returned to normal.

Looking into the mirror once more, what she saw reflected on its surface was a normal teenage girl.

No redness in the eyes, no long hair, and her teeth were their normal rounded shape.

A sheen of sweat covered her skin, the only evidence of her episode ever having occurred.

After taking a shaky breath Ruby turned on the faucet and washed her face off with cold water.

Once she felt much better she flicked off the light before carefully opening the door.

Peeking into the room, she inspected it with bated breath, watching, waiting for someone to say something.

However, nothing came. Much to her relief.

She proceeded into the room, silently closing the door behind her.

Deciding that she had enough excitement for the night, Ruby started to clamber up to her suspended bed.

She paused a moment to take one final look at the slumbering heiress, before feeling that same presence tug at her chest and prod at her mind again.

She grimaced at it in annoyance, climbing into bed and laying down on her back.

She stared at the ceiling, for how long she stayed like that she didn't know, but eventually her eyelids began drooping shut and she allowed exhaustion to submerge her into slumber.

* * *

Ruby awoke slowly, her eyes fluttering open as she lay on her bed.

She felt a kind of calm one only gets after a dreamless slumber.

She remained still, feeling her chest rising and falling with each gentle breath she took.

After a moment she pushed herself up, moving to the edge of the bed before carefully climbing off.

Seeing as the others were still resting, Ruby made her way to the bathroom first to freshen up and change.

She soon reentered the room dressed in her school uniform.

Going over to one of the large wardrobes the girls shared, she then retrieved her beloved cloak.

She was glad headmaster Ozpin allowed students to wear accessories along with their uniforms.

What one wore could tell a lot about that person; ranging from the importance of the item to just a mere necessity to wear it.

Perhaps it was simply Ozpin's way to make students feel a bit more unique.

Either way it was still a nice gesture.

Clasping her cloak onto her uniform Ruby turned around, prepared to wake the others, only to find that one of them had already woken.

Blake sat up in her bed, still under her covers, and was looking ahead at the wall blearily.

Her feline ears were flopped adorably atop her head, perking up when she did a full body stretch as she crawled across the bed.

Ruby giggled lightly at the sight.

Blake's stretch had an uncanny resemblance to a cat's.

After the incident with Roman at the docks, Blake had become more open to leaving her bow off when in their dorm.

It took a lot of encouragement from the team, but it wasn't until Weiss said something about the binding being uncomfortable for her ears that Blake conceded.

Though she probably regrets doing it a bit, if only for the fact that Yang tickles the fur around her ears just to tease her.

The soft noise of Ruby's laugh caused Blake's feline ears to flick about, searching for the source of the sound.

She looked over at Ruby, her eyes still crusted by the sands of slumber, and after a brief moment she registered her leader's face and gave a weary smile.

"Morning Ruby."

A long yawn followed after her greeting.

"Heheh. Morning Blake!"

The older girl smiled at her once again before proceeding to the bathroom, lazily picking up her uniform along the way.

Looking to the bed above Blake's, Ruby set to work in waking up her sister.

Yang was a particularly difficult person to deal with in the morning.

Luckily they were sisters, so Ruby knew several tricks to use in order to wake her up.

Ruby gently prodded at the blonde, causing her sister to stir and groan.

"Yaaang~ Wakey, wakey." She first tried in a normal tone.

Yang merely grunted at her, before turning over on her side, trying to face away from Ruby.

The young girl wouldn't be deterred though, using the opportunity to push Yang a bit farther as she rolled over.

"Time to rise up sunshine!" She called out eagerly.

Meanwhile her sister toppled over the edge of the bunk and landed on the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

Pushing herself up with a moan, Yang glared at her little sister, who smiled all too innocently at her.

"Geez sis, thanks for the wake-up call."

Ruby only continued to smile innocently at her.

"No problem sis! It's the least I could do as a responsible leader."

Grumbling to herself as she rose off the ground, Yang went about the room to gather her uniform and the various products she used for her hair.

Yang was always a stickler when it came to taking care of her hair, so she kept her personal products in a separate bag to prevent anyone else from using them by accident.

When Blake exited the bathroom, now wearing her bow, Yang immediately rushed by her to seize it.

Blake set her pajamas aside and went about tidying her bed a bit. After finishing that chore she grabbed a book from one of their few shelves and deposited herself on her bed.

She opened the novel and delved into a world of fiction.

Ruby then turned her attention to the last slumbering member of the team.

Her partner rested fitfully, having not stirred once the whole morning, despite all the noise from waking up Yang.

After being a team for this long, Ruby had grown accustomed to everyone's morning rituals.

Blake usually awoke on her own, while Yang needed a bit of coaxing.

However with Weiss she found that awakening her wasn't all that difficult to achieve.

Ruby sat at the edge of her partner's bed carefully, reaching out a hand to bring the girl out of the grasp of dormancy.

While shaking her shoulder gently Weiss began to stir, and soon a single eye fluttered open to gaze lazily up at Ruby.

"It's time to wake up now Weiss."

Ruby said soothingly as she smiled at the sleepy heiress.

"Mmh, morning Ruby."

The pale girl slowly rose up, stretching her arms above her head before lowering them to stifle a yawn.

What Ruby had discovered with Weiss was that a loud, abrasive wake-up call wasn't what she required in order to arise from her deep slumber.

She had learned that the hard way when Weiss threw her whistle out their window one morning.

Unable to find it, Ruby awoke the stern heiress the next morning in a timid manner.

She then discovered that all she needed to do was perform a gentle urging, finding the older girl to be in much better spirits through this method of awakening.

It seemed that due to Weiss' upbringing in a mansion, there were maids that would come to her room to awaken her. Since it was an everyday occurrence, it was something she had grown accustomed to.

Ruby didn't mind falling into the routine.

After all, it made Ruby the first person Weiss saw every morning.

Plus Ruby was the only person that got the privilege to awaken her.

Ruby's thoughts were interrupted by the emergence of her boisterous sister.

She was now fully dressed in her uniform, along with her black fingerless gloves.

Yang carried her hair products over to her bag and arranged them accordingly. While doing so she took a glance at the Red and White pair, taking note of the much kinder awakening Weiss was receiving.

"Oh? So the princess gets special treatment, while I'm tossed to the side like a salad."

The blonde feigned hurt, as she clutched a hand over her heart dramatically.

"My own blood and kin, how could you?"

Ruby giggled at Yang's antics, while Weiss stared blankly at her, unamused at the 'princess' remark. Blake smiled in amusement, though her eyes were still glued to her book.

"Sis, stop being such a drama llama." Ruby giggled. "It's not my fault you won't get up on the first try."

Yang chuckled, dropping her act.

"Well, sorry I need my beauty sleep."

"Beauty sleep, huh?" Blake stated with a quirk of her brow.

"Yep." Yang replied, now moving her attention onto Blake.

She then began trying to taunt her partner out of reading.

Ruby watched the two in amusement before the sound of someone clearing their throat caught her attention.

Turning around she saw Weiss looking at her expectantly.

Realizing the implication she rose off the bed to allow Weiss free movement so that she could get off herself.

The heiress then moved to a wardrobe to obtain her uniform and entered the bathroom to freshen up.

Once everyone had done their morning rituals it didn't take long for them to tidy up the beds and gather supplies before heading off to their first class together.

Upon leaving Ruby knocked on the door across the hall from theirs. It opened shortly after, revealing Jaune and the others dressed in their uniforms and prepared for class.

"Hey girls." Jaune said with a nod.

"Good morning to all of you." Pyrrha greeted.

"Are you guys ready to smash those tests?" Nora said enthusiastically.

"Nora, I don't think there's going to be any need for that." Ren sighed, but smiled nonetheless.

Everyone gave their respective greetings to as they all traveled across the campus to the cafeteria for a quick breakfast.

Soon the group fell into their usual routine.

Jaune, Yang, and Ruby would talk about upcoming sparring events, or they were dreading the day's exams.

Nora and Pyrrha would attempt at cheering up the prior trio. Some days they were successful, other days they were not.

Weiss, Ren, and Blake spoke about tactics for missions, and on occasion they would be suggesting novels for each other to read.

The rest of the day went as it usually did.

Port told his stories, Oobleck zoomed about the room detailing historic events, notes had been taken, doodles were drawn, and students stressed over exams.

The only slight variant to this daily routine were the random field trips that happened on rare occasions.

Ruby was grateful for those excursions, as it would allow her to stretch her legs and get out of the stuffy classrooms.

It also allowed her the opportunity to fight with her darling Crescent Rose, instead of awkwardly trying to make small talk with the other students.

Although the day started out well for Ruby, it was during their lunch hour that her normally cheerful attitude seemed to take a turn.

Team JNPR and RWBY sat at their usual table, with an occasional visit from another student who would chat with them briefly before joining another table.

They conversed about various things, usually it pertained to events that occurred earlier in the day, about their studies, or on what to do for the weekend.

As Nora was retelling a variation of her reoccurring dream, another student came up to the group in an outburst of excitement.

"Hey guys! Are you going to watch the shooting stars up on the roof?"

Nora paused her story and looked at the newcomer in earnest, her teal eyes shining with interest.

The rest of the group looked at the messenger with curiosity, except for two distressed pairs of silver and lilac.

"Shooting stars? Tonight?" Jaune asked.

"No, not tonight. It's going to occur a couple days from now, after the weekend." The student exclaimed enthusiastically.

"It doesn't sound like a bad idea to me." Blake said nonchalantly.

Surprisingly her attention was not solely on the two books before her.

"It would be lovely to watch such an event take place." Pyrrha said with light enthusiasm.

"It's going to be great alright! There will be a new moon that night, so there's no light to bother us from viewing the spectacular sight."

After saying this the student saw someone else to bother, as they left the table in a rush to flag down another student.

"Well, that was certainly…enlightening." Weiss said with slight derision.

"Oh, Ren! We should totally go watch the stars fall from the sky. I bet it'll be amazing. Maybe even better than when I broke one of Weiss' Dust bottles. Man was that one heck of a light show!"

Nora bounced giddily in her seat as she rambled.

"I still can't believe we're even alive after that." Weiss said incredulously.

"Sure, Nora, we'll go watch. It should be a nice experience…hopefully." Ren said with a skeptic expression.

As the others delved back into their conversations and other activities, Weiss couldn't help but notice the lack of noise from a certain brawler, as well as their fearless leader.

Looking in the direction of the two sisters she caught them whispering to each other.

Whatever discussion they were having seemed pretty serious, since their expressions were rather solemn.

Feeling curious of whatever they were discussing away from everyone else, she couldn't help but out them on it.

"What are you two dunces talking about over there?"

Weiss gave them a pointed look.

Having caught their attention the two girls looked up at her.

Ruby quickly looked away as soon as she made eye contact, but the elder sister grinned at her innocently.

"Oh nothing. Just talking about the shooting stars and all."

Weiss squinted at the blonde suspiciously, not quite buying the excuse.

"Well, what are you talking about that can't be shared with the rest of the group?"

She raised her voice demandingly, drawing the attention of the others at the table.

Yang chuckled a bit nervously and looked to her sister, who was looking at her desperately, before turning back to Weiss.

"Uh, well, ya see we were, ummm…"

Yang stumbled over her thoughts as she tried to stall.

"Come on now, out with it!"

Weiss looked smugly at Yang.

She knew she had her cornered.

After a tense silence Yang finally caved.

"Alright, alright! I was just telling Ruby how romantic it would be when we go watch the shooting stars, if she were to watch it with her partner."

Yang put an emphasis on the word "partner", implying a different meaning to it.

She watched Weiss with a playful smirk as the others at the table giggled at the apparent joke.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!" Ruby whined pathetically before burying her face in her hands.

At this Weiss began to blush furiously, before locking a mean glare on Yang.

"Wha- How dare you insinuate such a thing! Y-You buffoon!"

Weiss screeched at the blonde brawler, trying to swipe at her from across the table.

Yang leaned away just barely out of the frustrated heiress' reach, laughing all the while.

The others attempted to stifle their own snickering behind their hands, with Jaune being unsuccessful and earning the angry girl's attention next.

Meanwhile Ruby was blushing just as furiously as Weiss, covering her face with her hands in embarrassment.

Of all the things her sister had to say it had to be something so awkward.

Fortunately for Ruby she didn't have to stick around long enough to endure it, as a chime sounded for the end of lunch.

Using her Semblance, Ruby rushed out of the cafeteria for her next class.

It was a good thing she didn't share this class with Weiss, otherwise things would have been uncomfortable.

As Ruby entered the classroom she found it devoid of students, only the professor was present.

The professor was busy writing lecture notes on the digital blackboard, only briefly looking away from their work to acknowledge Ruby.

The young girl plopped down in her seat, expelling a heavy sigh.

Thanks to Yang, now her thoughts were scrambled.

Ruby would be lying if she said she wasn't interested in Weiss as something more than just a friend.

At first she never even considered anyone at Beacon as a potential love interest, as she made herself more focused on weapons and being a Huntress.

Heck, she didn't even know that she had liked girls until a certain incident had happened in her past, resulting with her questioning herself every now and then.

Although her relationship with Weiss was rocky to begin with, they somehow managed to put aside their differences and used their faults to support and learn from one another.

In all honesty, Ruby herself didn't even know when she started viewing Weiss in such a way.

It just sort of happened.

No fancy fanfare or dramatic realizations.

It was actually Yang who pointed out that she was crushing on the heiress.

She then teased her often about it, pointing out how she often stared wistfully at the heiress or how she would babble incessantly about her partner's grace and intelligence.

No matter how much she joked over the whole thing, Yang remained loyal to Ruby about not telling anyone.

With Ruby's condition the young girl assumed it would never work anyway, and she didn't want to lose the friendship they already had.

Speaking of her condition, Ruby was somewhat glad that Yang had come up with a plausible distraction from it. Albeit an embarrassing one.

Before Weiss had gotten on to them it was that exact thing the two sisters were discussing.

Ruby sighed heavily once more, earning the attention of the professor.

"Is there something the matter, Miss Rose?" Her professor asked with a quirked brow.

"Ah, nothing's wrong, I'm just tired is all."

Ruby assured, the professor finding the answer acceptable as they went back to continue their work.

Ruby internally sighed in relief, she didn't want to have a professor pry into her situation too.

Returning her thoughts to the conversation she had with Yang, Ruby reminisced the memory with a frown.

_"Hey sis, you gonna be okay?" A concerned Yang asked quietly as the random student ranted about the stars._

_"Yeah, it's just really lame that I'm going to miss out on the shooting stars with everyone." _

_Ruby sighed and slumped in her seat with a somewhat defeated expression._

_"I'm worried what everyone's going to think when I don't show up on the roof. I can't just tell them I'm going to run around the woods as a..." _

_Ruby let her words trail off, her brow furrowing. _

_She didn't need to finish her sentence for Yang to understand._

_"Don't worry about it RuRu, your big sis will figure something out for you." _

_Yang wrapped an arm around her shoulder reassuringly._

_"Thanks Yang." _

_ "Okay, so we'll just use the same old excuse of going on our sisterly bonding camping trip." Yang said assuredly. "It's worked every time before, so why wouldn't it work now? Besides, we have the headmaster of Beacon backing us, so there's nothing to worry about."_

Ruby slouched in her chair, staring up at the ceiling in disdain.

She still felt a bit paranoid that the plan wouldn't work, or something would go wrong.

If it weren't for her uncle Qrow and his affiliation with Ozpin, it would be difficult for her to get by in the Academy.

Outside of family, Ozpin was one of the only other people that knew of Ruby's situation.

It made it easier for her to be missing a couple of nights when the headmaster was your alibi.

Before she could dwell any longer on these thoughts several students began trickling in, noisily chattering among one another.

Ruby immediately sat up straight in her chair, putting on the façade that she was perfectly fine and high-spirited.

_I'll talk to Yang about it later._

Once classes were over for the day, all Ruby wanted to do for the rest of the evening was find Yang, talk about the plan, and sleep.

Though knowing her partner, Weiss would probably try to drag her off to the library to study or finish assignments.

Ruby never really minded their study sessions, since she got to be alone with Weiss, but this time it would be somewhat of an inconvenience.

Entering her dorm room Ruby was surprised to find no one else was in the room. Usually there would at least be one of her team members doing some sort of activity as she entered.

Sweeping her gaze around the room she went to knock on the bathroom door, making sure if maybe someone was in there.

After waiting a moment without any response she opened the door to find the small area empty.

Standing there a bit dumbfounded, Ruby finally moved over toward her wardrobe to change into her pajamas.

Since none of the others were here she didn't need to bother walking to the bathroom to change.

Hanging up her cloak, she shut the wardrobe and looked around the room once more.

_Guess it wouldn't hurt to take that nap first._

With a small shrug she moved over to her bunk, preparing to climb up when a thought struck her.

Gazing down at her partner's bed an idea sprouted in Ruby's mind.

She blushed a little at the thought of sleeping in her partner's bed, and flushed even more at the way she had worded it.

Taking a few deep calming breaths she made a decision.

Ruby grabbed her pillow from her bunk before falling forward onto Weiss' bed.

She clutched her pillow tightly, burying her face in it to hide from her own embarrassment.

It's not like the bed was any different from hers, since all their beds were the same, but the knowledge that it was Weiss' made it feel very different than hers.

And maybe because of the fact that Weiss' bed was not suspended precariously by ropes.

Pulling her pillow down off her face a bit, Ruby looked around the empty room.

_This is how Weiss sees the room when she wakes up. It's so different looking at it from down here._

Ruby squirmed a bit as she tried to curl herself into the covers to be comfortable.

It felt a bit awkward sleeping on the bottom bunk.

Ruby's bed being suspended by thick ropes made it sensitive to any movement, but in Weiss' bed there was none of that swaying that she had grown accustomed to whenever she shifted.

Finding a comfortable position Ruby sighed contentedly into her pillow, as she was still holding the cushion close to her chest.

She closed her eyes, briefly fluttering them open once in a while to see if anyone would walk through the door.

Eventually her eyelids became too heavy to open, and soon she fell asleep.

* * *

Trapped.

That was the first thought to enter Ruby's mind when she found herself running past trees late at night.

However, she wasn't in control of her body.

Something else was.

Panic was the first thing to overcome her state of mind when she realized she wasn't dreaming.

She had attempted at wresting for control, but every attempt was futile.

Whatever it was that was holding her hostage in her own mind wouldn't give up that easily.

Figuring that there wasn't much else she could do, she allowed whatever it was to continue its course.

She observed the scenery that rushed around her. Maybe there would be some sort of landmark that she could recognize.

What she ended up finding instead was something much more distressing.

Everywhere she looked there were a pair of glowing red eyes that would appear occasionally in the distance.

Eyes that could only belong to two things: a bunch of angry Yangs or the creatures of Grimm.

She really wished it was the former, but knew better than to pretend Yang was playing an elaborate prank on her.

Once again she was in a panic.

Whoever or whatever had control of her body was possibly being chased by Grimm, and Ruby didn't fancy the idea of becoming monster chow.

She tried again to take control, desperately trying to power her way into it, but a strange force had pushed her back down.

She then paused any further attempts when a low, grumbling voice echoed in her mind.

_This is mine now. _

_I earned the right to keep it. _

_You can't have it back. _

_It's mine. _

_Not yours. _

_So go away._

Ruby had no idea who the voice belonged to, nor did she know where it came from.

All she knew was that it resonated around her very soul when it spoke.

There was no discernible gender to it, but because it sounded baritone Ruby decided it would be safe to assume male.

The voice seemed familiar to her, like in a long lost friend kind of way, even though she was positive that this was her first time ever hearing it.

Coming out of her stupor she persisted yet again for control, not allowing the stranger's voice to unnerve her.

She heard a growl then, but not within the mind, rather the sound came from her body.

That was strange.

How was her voice able to sound so low and guttural?

A long howl pierced through the silent night air, followed by several others.

They were the cries of Beowolves. Ruby had recognized them from the movies and shows she's seen on television.

It was then that the trees stopped rushing by as her body halted, and the same howl sounded from her own form.

Ruby froze in terror, comprehending the implications this brought about.

She felt her body surge forward once again, and she watched on as her realization came closer to truth.

She then sensed her body coming to a slow trot, as a clearing deep in the woods became visible.

It was just a small area that contained a clear pond.

Still pacing onward until approaching the edge of the pond, she was forced to gaze down at its reflective surface.

She had caught a brief glimpse of the crescent moon reflecting in the water during the motion.

Then all she could see were glowing red eyes staring back at her.


	3. Don't Worry About The Dark

**A/N: Lil thing I wanted to address first before ya start. Thank you to the folks that left reviews. It means a lot to me when I know you're enjoying something I've written. Ya'll make me wanna bear hug ya. Feel free to leave me with some constructive criticism tho. Okay. I'm done. Go ahead and read now.**

**Edit [02/15/16]: Grammar fixes and considerable tweaks to make the story more consistent.**

* * *

Yang and Weiss travelled through Beacon's halls, heading back towards their dorm room. However the trip was not a quiet one.

"Oh relax princess. You're overthinking things." Yang sighed exhaustedly.

Ever since the incident in the cafeteria, Weiss hadn't given rest to the topic regarding the implication between herself and Ruby.

She had been badgering Yang the whole time, making the brawler almost wish she had used a lamer excuse.

Although seeing the grumpy heiress was quite entertaining, and she was still fun to tease.

"I will relax, once you apologize for implying such lewd lies!" Weiss huffed.

"Oh, come on! It's not like anybody got hurt or something. You guys know I was joking."

Yang attempted to wave off her incessant scolding, but the heiress would have none of it.

"No. Nobody got hurt, but you embarrassed both me and Ruby."

Weiss crossed her arms as they continued to walk, all the while looking at her teammate expectantly.

Yang gave the girl an incredulous look.

Weiss returned it with a demanding glare.

"All right! Fine!"

Yang raised her arms up in surrender before quickly dropping them to her sides.

"I apologize for embarrassing you princess." Yang drawled out unenthusiastically.

Weiss gave her a curt nod, uncrossing her arms as she sighed.

"I suppose that will have to do."

She then got up close to Yang's face, causing the taller girl to flinch back reflexively at the accusing finger pointing at her.

"But don't think I haven't forgotten that you still need to apologize to Ruby as well."

Yang grimaced at the pale girl's insistence.

"Geez! I got it Weiss. Get off my case already."

As the door to their room came into view Yang had perked up at the thought of being able to get this over with quickly.

"Well, Ruby should already be back from her class, so I'll go apologize to her right away."

Yang used her scroll to gain entrance to the room, grabbing the door handle eagerly, and twisting the knob to open the door.

She made a few large strides into the room, with Weiss close on her heels, before speaking in an obnoxiously loud voice.

"Hey Rubes. Your big sis has come to apolo-"

Before Yang could finish her zealous outburst, she felt a petite hand had clamp over her mouth.

She flicked her eyes back at Weiss in question, who jerked her head and motioned her eyes toward the direction of her bunk.

Following her gaze, Yang saw Ruby sleeping soundlessly.

However, instead of being up on her bed fort she was laying on Weiss' bed.

When it seemed that Yang would no longer make any more unnecessary noises, Weiss removed her hand from over the blonde's mouth.

She looked at the bit of saliva on her hand gingerly, before whispering to Yang in admonishment.

"Be quiet you dunce."

Yang nodded at her absentmindedly as she tip-toed to her slumbering sister.

Ruby was most likely in one of her heavier naps, as she didn't wake up from the noise earlier.

Yang adored her sister silently, as she was currently cuddling close to a pillow with her face partially buried in it.

Yang then remembered Weiss was in the room.

She began to worry that the heiress behind her was seething at Ruby; having rested on her bed without permission.

However when she turned to face her teammate she was surprised that Weiss' expression held no malice.

Her earlier grouchiness had completely vanished, a softer look in her eyes compared to the sharpness it held previously.

Weiss began approaching the bunk, all the while still gazing at their slumbering leader.

"You're not gonna push her off are ya?"

Weiss glanced at the blonde out of the corner of her eye before looking up at Ruby's bed.

"I'm not that cruel Yang."

She pulled off the blanket from the top bunk, using the soft material to cover Ruby's body.

Yang couldn't help but feel slightly jealous at the gesture.

She felt that her older sister privileges were being taken from her.

Ruby remained oblivious to it all, snuggling further into the pillow she held as warmth soon enveloped her body.

Weiss then proceeded to her wardrobe to gather up a change of clothes.

She headed toward the bathroom, a baffled Yang watching her as she passed by.

Weiss paused in the doorway and turned her head to look back at the blonde.

"She can rest on my bed for now, but if she wakes up before I get out you should have her sleep on her own bed."

Weiss felt tempted to raise a hand to act as if she was blocking a bright light, as Yang seemed to have brightened the room with a beaming grin.

"Awww! You really do care Weiss." She cooed.

"Oh hush, you. Thanks to your boisterous entrance, I've got to clean your drool off of my hand."

She waved the unsanitary appendage in the air.

"Love ya too princess!" Yang teased jovially.

Weiss simply huffed at her and closed the door behind her as she went to take her shower.

Yang waited for the shower to start before changing into her own pajamas.

She then moved over toward her sister, sitting on the edge of the bed as close as she could get without waking her.

Carefully she reached out a hand and tucked a few strands of hair behind Ruby's ear. This caused the brunette to shift in her sleep, exposing more of her head from out of the pillow.

Yang then began to brush her fingers through the dark locks of hair. She easily untangled a few potential knots as she combed through it.

Ruby seemed to lean into each stroke, much like a puppy wanting to be petted more.

"Heh. You dork, making such sly moves."

Yang said in a hushed jest to her sleeping sister.

"Y'know, I was worried that your affection for Weiss was always going to be one-sided."

Ruby smiled in her sleep, mumbling incoherently under her breath as she dreamed.

"It looks like I had nothing to really worry about though."

Yang smiled down at Ruby as she slept on, oblivious to her older sister's words.

"I hope you're having happy dreams. Dust knows you deserve them."

Before she could speak again the door to the hallway clicked, and shortly after Blake emerged from behind it.

After closing the door Blake promptly removed her bow, sighing in content as she allowed her feline ears freedom from their bindings.

Yang shifted slightly on the bed, a slight creak being heard from her movement.

This caused Blake's kitty ears to perk toward the direction of the noise, and Yang had to resist the desire to get up and tickle them so they'd twitch some more.

Curious golden eyes met admiring lilac before noticing the mess of brunette hair poking out from under the covers on Weiss' bed.

"Since you two are in here, I would like to believe Weiss is in the shower."

Blake walked over to the bunk and stood over the two sisters.

"Great deduction skills Sherlock."

Yang praised her with a thumbs up, causing the Faunus girl to smirk at her in return.

"How is Ruby still on Weiss' bed? I expected that she would have kicked her off of it already, or at least still be scolding her."

"Haha! I was surprised too. Apparently Weiss can no longer be dubbed the 'Ice Queen' anymore."

"Well, ice eventually melts."

"Oooooh. That's a good one!"

The two girls shared a laugh before they returned their gazes upon their adorable team leader.

The sound of running water stopped at this point, and shortly after the bathroom door swung open as Weiss reentered the room dressed in her night gown.

She gave a nod of acknowledgement to Blake, who returned the gesture with her own nod.

Blake then grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom to quickly change.

Weiss glanced at Yang still seated on her bed before collecting some textbooks and note paper.

She sat at the desk across from her and Ruby's bunk beds and began studying.

Blake reentered the room soon enough and went by the bookshelf to grab a novel.

She then settled on her bed, sitting with her back against the wall and her legs slightly propped up, as she opened the book and began to read.

Yang continued to smooth out Ruby's hair for a little while longer.

It was silent, save for the sounds of pages being turned and crickets' songs being heard from outside.

There were no conversations, no music, nor any other sound being made.

It was rare to have a silence like this.

To be able to enjoy each other's presence without having to actually do anything.

* * *

Ruby awoke slowly, feeling unusually warm and sensing another weight beside her.

Her eye lids fluttered open and close with rapid blinks.

She was still feeling groggy, having just woken from her nap.

Still clutching her pillow, she moved one arm to rub at her eyes.

As the veil of blurriness was lifted, and her vision became clearer, she was able to register her immediate surroundings.

Beside her she could tell another person was under the covers. The slight movement of breathing making the lump gently rise and fall was indication of that.

Ruby though was utterly confused.

She sat up and looked around the room to find it completely dark, save for the bit of light coming from the moonlight through the window.

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep for that long.

What she had intended to be a short nap, became much longer and so didn't go exactly as planned.

She examined her surroundings once more, then wondered why the room seemed so different.

That's when she remembered how she had lazily crawled into Weiss' bed instead of her own.

Ruby felt an uneasiness wash over her as she stared at the lump beside her.

_There's no way. Could it be?_

There was only one way to find out the answer to her thoughts.

Ruby cautiously reached over to whoever laid next to her, gripping at the edge of the cover.

As carefully as she could manage, she pulled down the blanket to reveal who laid underneath.

Ruby exhaled in relief when she recognized the face of her sister drooling happily in her sleep.

She allowed herself to smile at the goofy image before covering her sister back up.

Now that she had that mystery solved Ruby was left to wonder where her partner was.

Deciding that she wasn't going back to sleep without sating her curiosity, Ruby got out of the bed.

She moved around carefully and left the bed, cautiously walking toward the other bunk to see who rested there.

Ruby was astonished to find Blake wasn't in her bed.

In her place Weiss had slept, and looking to the top bunk she found Blake's onyx hair cascading over the edge.

It was weird seeing everyone not sleeping in their usual places.

Ruby figured that this could count as an exercise in team bonding.

Satisfied with her findings, Ruby tip-toed back into Weiss' bed and snuggled close to the body heat of her sister.

Absorbing the warmth emanating from her sister, Ruby soon found herself quickly drifting back into slumber.

When team RWBY awoke they were glad that the day was a weekend.

Everyone woke up feeling disoriented at the change of scenery.

Blake nearly fell off of the top bunk that was Yang's bed, forgetting about the recent arrangement implemented last night.

Unsurprisingly, Ruby was the first one to be up and about.

"Good morning team RWBY! The weekend has begun!" She shouted enthusiastically.

"Ugh. Ruby, can't you give us a minute before you shout."

Weiss said grumpily as she slowly sat up in Blake's bed with a drowsy expression.

"Oops. Sorry, Weiss, didn't mean to wake you up." Ruby said sheepishly.

Yang was heard moving off of Weiss' bed, letting out a loud yawn as she stretched out her limbs.

"Ah man! I had a great rest. How about you guys?"

She looked at the other two girls, who's faces weren't nearly as jovial as Yang's.

"I don't see how you haven't fallen off this bed yet."

Blake looked down skeptically at the blonde, as she was still perched on Yang's bunk.

"Awww! Do you need me to help you down? Heh, it's like saving a kitten from out of a tree."

Blake gave her a stern look making Yang's chuckle die down.

"Ahahaha. Right, let me help ya down Blake."

As Yang went to help Blake not fall on her face, Weiss got out of bed and moved over to inspect her own bed.

"Yang, you shedded your hair all over my sheets."

"Hey! I don't shed."

"Oh yeah? Then what's this?"

Weiss raised a few fine strands of golden hair between her forefinger and thumb.

"Maybe they're Ruby's."

Yang said with a nonchalant shrug once Blake was on solid ground.

"Hey!" Ruby exclaimed at her sister with a pout.

"Oh, okay. I'll clean up your bed later, just let me take a shower first."

Weiss nodded and made her way by the trash can to deposit the strands of hair she held.

"Alright then, but let us freshen up before you. You always take forever when you shower."

"Oh, c'mon. I don't take that long."

Yang looked to her other two teammates for backup.

"Actually sis, you do take a long time." Ruby said as she nervously poked her forefingers together.

"You're record right now is one and a half hours." Blake stated.

"Wait, you time me?" Yang looked at them incredulously.

"It gets kind of boring waiting for you." Ruby admitted.

"We used to make bets." Blake shrugged.

"Bets?!" Yang shouted.

"Yeah, but Ruby always won them, so we stopped." Weiss looked off to the side in an uncaring manner.

An awkward silence fell over the team before Yang caved.

"Oh, alright! Go take your showers or whatever."

She threw her hands up in the air and then proceeded over to the beds.

"I'll just clean the princess' bed while I wait."

Three cleaned members and one of Yang's fastest showers later, the team were walking around the Commercial District.

They invited team JNPR to come along with them, for as the saying goes, "the more the merrier!"

The city was bustling with activity, more so than usual.

The reason for this was in preparation for a small fair that would be assembled in honor of the shooting stars occurring later on in the week.

Everyone's eyes were lit with fascination and mirth at the decorations that were being placed.

Nora, Jaune, Ruby, and Yang were the most exuberant of the group, while the others watched their teammates with amusement.

Weiss was just as excited as them, though she was more into the planning and organizing than the actual event itself.

Some of the stands were already open; the smell of delicious foods being cooked and cheers of someone winning a game emanated from certain booths.

The group stopped by a target shooting stall, observing the stall's manager testing out the BB guns.

While they watched, Ruby found her gaze wandering over toward Weiss.

She noticed how her focus wasn't on the person, but one of the prizes hanging above the booth's awning.

Ruby made sure to keep note of the prize and of this specific booth when the fair was fully active.

Although no one really planned on spending any Lien that day, Nora managed to convince the group to buy at least one thing from some of the open concession stands.

Most of the treats and appetizers they tried were quite delicious.

Ruby shared her food with Yang, who returned the favor by sharing her own.

By the end of their little tour, they were all feeling quite satisfied. Except for Nora, who still had plenty of room for more.

There was still enough time left in the day to wander about some more, but JNPR had to opt out.

Pyrrha and Jaune had to leave for some combat training they scheduled earlier that day.

Ren had to take Nora back to the dorm, due to the stomach ache she received from trying multiple varieties of food too hastily.

Team RWBY then decided to go to the park for a short and quiet walk.

The walk was indeed short, but quiet it was not.

They happened upon an empty playground along the way, and like the children they were, Yang and Ruby couldn't resist playing on it.

Although they were much too big and had to bend over or crouch in certain areas, they still managed to enjoy themselves.

They were soon playing a game of tag as they nimbly climbed on monkey bars, jungle gyms, and slides.

Blake elected to sit under the shade of a tree, with Weiss following suit, and they observed their teammates' activities.

Eventually Yang hit the top of her head on a bar while climbing up a slide, ceasing any further activities.

The two sisters' trudged back to their partners, Yang now sporting a small lump and a pout. She looked at her dark-haired partner with crocodile tears.

"Blakey, I got a boo-boo. Kiss it for me?"

She began to chuckle at the last part, since she did not seriously mean it.

"Okay."

Caught off guard by her partner's response, Yang was easily pulled down by her scarf as Blake brought her head down and pressed a light kiss on the sore spot.

"Feeling better?"

Blake smirked up at her partner, before tilting her head a bit as she watched the blonde's odd reaction.

Yang began stuttering, unable to make any coherent string of words come out.

She stumbled as she had backed up quickly from Blake, looking at her with a flushed face.

Feeling completely embarrassed, Yang staggered off toward the public restroom nearby.

Ruby was giggling at her sister's behavior, while Weiss covered her mouth to stifle her chuckle.

"Nice one Blake."

Ruby gave the Faunus a thumbs up.

"I've never seen her like that before. Now she's gotten a taste of her own medicine."

Weiss commended her, smiling as she watched Yang clumsily open the door to the restrooms.

"Well I better go check on Yang." Ruby said as she started to head off.

"No wait, Ruby. I'll handle this." Blake said with a raise of her hand. "I guess I should go apologize for embarrassing her."

Blake stood up, dusting off her backside before moving forward.

Ruby nodded in understanding and watched Blake walked off.

Not having anything else to do, Ruby sat down beside Weiss as they waited for the return of the other duo.

Ruby began fidgeting soon after sitting down.

She didn't particularly like having nothing to occupy herself with, it made her feel anxious.

A sigh from Weiss caught her attention before the older girl spoke.

"So, Yang and Blake. Wouldn't have expected it to be those two of all people to have an interest in each other."

Ruby perked up and smiled, understanding what Weiss was getting at.

"To tell you the truth, Yang's not very good with that sort of stuff. Plus she's always so obvious with her crushes." Ruby said with a giggle.

"Would you mind telling me a few stories?"

Ruby nodded enthusiastically, her silver eyes lighting up with a sparkle.

"Well, even though she may look it and sometimes act like it, Yang isn't as much as a stereotypical party girl as she makes herself out to be."

"Oh really?" Weiss said with some disbelief.

"Mhm. She's only ever been in a relationship with another person on three different occasions."

"For some reason I find that a little hard to believe. Yang seems very popular among many students at Beacon."

"I know right? Although she's decided that being in a relationship was too much of a distraction from becoming a huntress. And when we were younger, it would get in the way of watching over me."

"What about you, Ruby. Are you the real party girl of the two sisters?"

Weiss said in a teasing tone and smirked at her.

Ruby blushed slightly now that the topic switched to her own relationship status.

"U- Um. No. I'm not a party girl." She chuckled sheepishly. "I've actually only ever been in one relationship." Ruby admitted, poking her forefingers together shyly.

"Oh?" Weiss leaned closer to her, her interest piqued. "What happened?"

Ruby began fidgeting once more, her nervousness growing inside of her.

It was a tad awkward to be talking to her current object of affections about a relationship she had in the past.

"Let's just say that things didn't quite work out in the end." Ruby mumbled quietly.

Before Weiss could pry any further Yang was heard calling out to the two girls, with Blake trailing leisurely behind her.

"Hey, Weiss, if you sit that close to my sister I might think you'd be putting the moves on her!"

Yang began cackling loudly soon after, bending over and slapping her knee.

Weiss' face tinged pink as she stood up and began marching towards Yang angrily.

"Uh oh."

Yang began running around the playground to escape the furious heiress' wrath, successfully avoiding her for a while.

Ruby was relieved for the interruption, thankful that Yang returned when she did.

Ruby didn't like talking about her past relationship.

Not only was it awkward, but it also raised some bad memories.

When Weiss used one of her glyphs to fling Yang into the air, they then decided to call it a day and returned to the academy.

When the team reached the academy, and deposited their things in the room, they split up.

Weiss and Blake headed to the library, the prior to study and the latter to read in peace.

Meanwhile the two sisters remained in the room, deciding to update each other about the more personal aspects of their week.

The two girls had sat on the floor in the center of the room.

Ruby pulled a brush through Yang's shimmering locks of gold, gently untangling any knots she came across and smoothing out the rambunctious curls as best as she could.

The two talked about various things.

They recalled past adventures they shared as children, whether it was antics at their home on Patch or at playgrounds similar to the one they were just at.

They also updated each other on more immediate topics, such as their studies or their crushes.

"You know, sis, you don't have to hold back anymore."

Ruby said as she untangled another knot in Yang's golden tresses.

Yang hummed contentedly in response.

"I'm talking about Blake."

This had caught Yang's attention, as Ruby noticed her stiffen slightly.

"I'm not a little kid anymore. You don't have to keep yourself from going out with her for my sake."

Ruby's movements began to slow as she continued to speak.

"I've seen the way you act around her sis. I'm not that dense."

Yang looked ready to protest, but Ruby beat her to it.

"Just because I'm cursed doesn't mean you have to share my burden."

Ruby had spoken it very quietly. She had stopped brushing, and Yang remained unmoving as she listened to her sister continue.

"I don't want you to have to limit your life because of me. You should be able to live your life without restraints. Live it the way you want to."

Ruby became silent after that, and the two stayed in that silence for a moment until Yang shifted.

She turned around to face Ruby, a halfhearted smile on her features.

She raised a hand up against Ruby's cheek, and the young girl could feel her thumb stroke something wet off.

It was then that Ruby realized she was crying, and Yang embraced her in a warm hug as Ruby sniffled into her shoulder.

They remained that way for a while.

Yang rubbing a hand comfortingly up and down Ruby's back until she calmed down.

"I'm sorry Yang. It's just- I want you to be happy."

Ruby then leaned away from her sister, rubbing the back of her hand over one of her eyes.

"Oh, Ruby, there's nothing for you to be sorry about."

Yang said in a soft coo as she held onto one of Ruby's hands.

"I'm happy knowing that you're safe, and that I can always see your smiling face when I wake up every day. Besides, there's no way you're being a burden. This is a choice I'm making, so I'm also not limiting myself."

Yang used her other hand and patted her shoulder with assurance. Ruby could only nod and sniffle a bit more.

"Your turn now!"

Yang beamed cheerfully as she moved behind Ruby and began playing with her hair.

The two remained quiet, neither one quite sure of what to say.

Yang was trying to braid the longer portion of Ruby's hair when she thought of something.

A smile grew on her face.

"Remember when we were younger, and how I used to braid your hair all the time."

"Yeah. But back then I had let my hair grow out. Your hair used to be super short too."

Ruby was starting to sound much better than she was earlier.

"Haha. Yeah…I can't even remember what that looked like without seeing it in a photo."

Yang chuckled, her fingers still moving deftly to make another braid.

"You kind of looked like a boy." Ruby laughed. "I remember how girls would try to ask you out after school almost every day."

"What? Nah. You're exaggerating. It wasn't that often. Was it?"

Yang finished a third braid, trying to go for a fourth.

"Yup! It was pretty much every day. I couldn't believe how popular you were."

Ruby giggled, her head shaking a little from the laughter.

"Hey now. Stand still, this one's tricky."

Yang laughed along though, managing to finish the braid.

"Ta-da! Done!"

Yang flourished at her handiwork before getting up to grab a mirror for Ruby to look into.

"Whadya think?"

She held the mirror in front of Ruby, the young girl's cheeks puffed to stifle a chuckle, but she was unable to contain it.

"It looks horrible!"

Ruby couldn't help but roll on the floor laughing, her braids almost coming undone at the motion.

Yang pouted slightly at her behavior.

"I didn't think it was too bad."

She brightened up quickly though at the sight of her sister's giggling.

"I guess it does look a bit silly though."

Once Ruby had calmed down she sat up and grinned at Yang.

"Thanks sis."

"Thanks for making you look silly." Yang joked.

"Thank you, for cheering me up."

Yang couldn't help but to grab Ruby and bring her into another embrace, burying her nose atop her head and speaking softly.

"That's what I'm here for."

* * *

Ruby hummed a random tune to herself as she skipped around the edge of a large water fountain.

It was situated in one of Patch's parks, and their parents allowed the two sisters to play at the playground near the house while they cooked dinner.

Yang watched her from her spot on the swing set a few feet away, although a bit absentmindedly.

It was nearing Ruby's seventh birthday, and Yang was deep in thought about what to get for her sister.

Ruby was still too young to like the same things she did, and much too innocent to act needy or behave bratty for anything she may have desired.

The young girl never voiced her thoughts too often, so it made it difficult for the blonde to figure out what to get for her.

As she sat there contemplating, her vision was suddenly filled with flowers.

Recoiling backwards from surprise, she fell out of the swing and landed awkwardly on her back.

A tinkling bell of a giggle reached her ears when she looked up at the intruder.

"Look at what I got for you Yang!"

The spirited little girl ran around the swing, once again thrusting at her the small flowers she picked.

"They look lovely, Rooboo, thanks."

Yang smiled as she accepted the tiny bouquet.

Ruby giggled as she scampered away to pick more flowers in the field.

Yang sighed and stood up to follow after the energetic tyke.

"Y'know, RuRu, if ya keep picking flowers there won't be any left for the park to stay pretty."

Ruby looked up at her astonished, then looked down guiltily at the flowers she already picked in her hand.

Yang saw a pout coming, and the inevitable kicked puppy look that would soon follow.

Quickly she came up with something to distract her.

"Hey, Rubes, y'know what special day is coming soon?"

Ruby shook her head and looked up at her sister expectantly for the answer.

"It's gonna be your birthday soon!"

Yang mustered as much cheer as she could in the sentence.

Ruby perked up straight away, a big smile brightening her face.

Yang let herself relax, glad that her idea to cheer Ruby up had worked.

"Am I going to get cakes and cookies?"

The bundle of joy squealed delightedly as she stood up rapidly in enthusiasm.

"Haha! You betcha!"

Yang gave her a thumbs up, resulting in Ruby to dance in a circle.

"Yay!"

Ruby cheered loudly while shooting her hands up in the air.

The flowers she had picked were all but forgotten.

Yang ruffled her sister's hair playfully, making the younger giggle.

"C'mon, Rosebud. It's getting late, we should head back home."

"Okay."

Yang wanted Ruby's birthday to be great.

She didn't think things would have turned out like this.

Yang had awoken in the middle of the night to the sounds of rustling bed sheets below her bunk.

Groggily she sat up and rubbed at her eyes, wondering what all the commotion was about.

"Little Rose, what are you doing down there?" She asked tiredly.

Yang didn't receive an answer, instead the sheets stopped rustling and the room became dead quiet.

The silence unnerved Yang, who decided to peer over the bed to see what her little sister was up to.

"Ruby?"

As Yang peeked over the edge, she was met with two glaring red eyes.

She let out a scream before tumbling off the bed onto the floor with a loud thud.

Regaining her senses, she looked up to still see those glowing red eyes.

For some strange reason she couldn't bring herself to scream this time.

The thumping of her parents' footsteps from outside the room made the creature look away from her.

Briefly it laid its eyes on the door before charging out of the window, glass shattering upon its exit.

Her father and mother rushed into the room shortly after it left, their expressions distressed and worried.

"Yang?! Are you alright? What happened?"

Taiyang asked as he carefully lifted her arms and looked her over for any wounds.

Summer rushed to the shattered window, peering out into the night in search of an intruder.

"I'm okay daddy."

"Yang, where is Ruby?" Summer asked suddenly.

"What?"

Yang looked at her with a bewildered expression.

Summer stood beside the bunk, overlooking Ruby's bed.

"Where is Ruby?" She repeated more insistently.

Yang gulped. "I- I don't know."

Wait.

She probably did know where Ruby was.

But it's not something her parents would probably believe.

"Um, mom?" Yang started nervously. "I think a Beowolf ate Ruby."

She nearly sobbed as she said this.

The two adults looked at her incredulously before her father gave her a stern look.

"Now, young lady, this is no time for one of your pranks."

"But dad, this isn't a prank! I'm telling the truth!" Yang pleaded.

Summer put a hand out to stop her husband from speaking, locking eyes with Yang.

"Yang, tell me exactly what you saw."

_Free. Free. FREE!_

The Beowolf thought as it sped through the backyards of a small neighborhood and into a forested area further away.

The creature waited too long to have this freedom, to have this control.

It had been trapped in that pathetic human body for too long.

As it sped past trees, the beast could feel something, a presence, push at it for control.

The Beowolf found the attempt annoying, easily crushing the presence back into its cage.

_This is mine now. _

_I earned the right to keep it. _

_You can't have it back. _

_It's mine. _

_Not yours. _

_So go away._

However it seemed the presence would not give up, as it continued to fight back shortly after its demand.

In the distance howls were heard, other Beowolves were somewhere nearby.

The Beowolf paused in its course, returning the howls with one of its own.

It was then it felt the small presence cease its prodding.

Satisfied by this, the Beowolf traveled further into the woods, entering a clearing with a pond.

Seeing the liquid the beast decided to drink, curious as to what the sensation would feel like as this would be its first experience.

As it was tilting its head over the water it could see its reflection.

The red glow of its eyes shining brightly against the greys and blacks of everything else.

Before it could take its drink, a pale figure appeared in the reflection from the woods behind it.

Quickly turning about, the Beowolf bared its fangs at the intruder only to find nothing was there.

Confused, it sniffed the air but could not find any trace of a scent.

A gentle voice called out to it then, startling the beast as it briefly tucked its tail between its legs.

"You don't have to be afraid of me. I would never harm you."

The mysterious voice whispered from some unknown location.

The Beowolf felt no security in those meager words, choosing to bare its fangs at the empty air around it.

A rustle of branches was heard from its right, and it faced that direction, ready for a fight.

However, as the figure made its appearance the Beowolf lost all need of violence and fear.

A single thought from the other presence rang out through its mind.

Something that even a beast like itself had understood.

_Mother._

Summer noticed how the small Beowolf froze up, no longer seeming eager for a fight, but not daring to make a move in her presence.

Taking the opportunity, she slowly approached the creature, making sure to not frighten the beast once more.

The Beowolf didn't move, and it didn't retaliate when she reached out a hand and placed it on its muzzle.

"There, there. It's okay now. Everything is alright." She cooed.

The little Beowolf flinched at the contact at first, but it soon relaxed on its haunches, bewildered at this being known as 'Mother'.

"Tell me, is my little Rose there with you?"

The Beowolf wasn't sure who this Rose was, but when the word was spoken the small presence in its mind reacted to it.

_Rose?_

The beast thought curiously.

_Me, me! That's me!_

The Beowolf could hear a small voice chime earnestly at its inquiry.

Within that moment, the two had unknowingly established a connection.

Focusing back on Mother, the Beowolf tilted its head up and down once.

Mother seemed to really like that, as the beast recognized the signs of a smile.

It felt a sense of pride wash over it, causing it to pant happily while wagging its tail.

Summer then began stroking its fur, scratching behind its ears.

"You're such a small thing."

Summer stated absentmindedly, taking note that its bone mask had not yet grown.

"May I see my little Rose again?"

The Beowolf stopped its jovial demeanor at this, backing away from her with a low growl.

"Ah. It seems you don't like that idea much."

The Beowolf watched her carefully, waiting to see what her next move would be.

"I suppose it's only rational that you want to keep this form. After all, you've been trapped for a very long time."

The Beowolf calmed down, sitting once again as it tilted its head to one side, curious.

"I think we can come to an arrangement then."

Summer looked down at the creature and smiled.

* * *

After Yang had explained what she saw Summer had immediately left, grabbing her white cloak on her way out the door.

Summer didn't return until the next morning with Ruby in her arms, who was unharmed and sleeping.

Yang wasn't sure what was going on until she overheard one of her parents' hushed conversations.

They had mentioned the word 'Cursed' a few times, and it was then that she had an idea of what was going on.

Yang had learned about the Cursed in school, something that was briefly taught in history lessons.

When Ruby finally awoke from her rest, she got up being immediately frightened.

She was constantly whimpering under a blanket and wouldn't come out no matter how Yang coaxed her.

Soon Yang resorted to have Summer come in to reassure her, while their father paced back and forth distressed.

Ruby's birthday party was cancelled, and no one was allowed into the house, save for their uncle Qrow.

The adults were discussing Ruby's condition later that evening in the kitchen, sending the two girls to bed for the day.

It had taken a while for Ruby to fall back asleep, but when she did Yang felt it safe to rest as well.

Things continued like this for a few days.

Yang's anxiety never really leaving as Ruby only remained distant and always afraid.

One particular night, when everyone had gone to bed, Yang could hear Ruby whimpering in the bunk below.

Having had enough of her sister being sad, and not be able to do anything about it for the past few days, Yang climbed down to comfort her.

"Hey, Ruby?" Yang started tentatively.

She could only see a lump huddled under the blankets, seeming to shrink further when Yang spoke.

She could hear Ruby sniffling underneath it.

Yang sat at the edge of the bed, noticing how the lump that was Ruby became completely still.

Yang reached a hand out to her, but retracted it back.

_What was she supposed to do?_

She had no idea what Ruby was going through.

She didn't want to make the situation worse by saying something unnecessary.

Yang curled her small fist in frustration.

How was she supposed to protect her little sister when she was so helpless?

An epiphany occurred to her then, thoughts so natural she wondered why she never considered it before.

Gulping nervously, Yang began to sing.

"Dream of anything; I'll make it all come true. Anything you need, is all I have for you."

Yang's voice was shaky.

She was so nervous when she saw no immediate reaction from Ruby.

At least it seemed like she had stopped crying, the muffled sniffles having ceased.

"I'm so happy, just to have you here. Your smiles bring me sunshine, my worries disappear."

A slight movement from the bed sheets urged Yang on, motivating her to continue.

"When the days turn dark, and we start to fall. I will pick you up, and we will fix it all."

Yang grinned as she saw Ruby's messy dark hair poke out of the blanket.

She peeked over the edge of it at her, but in the shadows it was still difficult to see her face clearly.

"Don't you worry about the dark, I will light up the night with the love in my heart."

Yang felt more confident now, her emotions being conveyed in the words.

"I will burn like the sun. I will keep you safe and warm."

As she said this Yang had grabbed a candle on the nearby nightstand, trying to spark a flame.

It wasn't much, but it did manage to light up the area around the bed.

Yang gasped in surprise when she saw the part of Ruby's face uncovered by the blanket.

At this sound the little girl ducked her head under the covers again, curling in on herself once more.

Yang didn't hesitate this time when she grabbed the covers and pulled them off of Ruby roughly.

Ruby scrambled to get the covers back, but it was in vain.

Realizing this she tried to cover her face, but what was seen could not be ignored.

Ruby's face was covered partially by a bone-like mask.

Bright red markings covered the mask, a seemingly random series of tribal designs decorating it.

At the bottom edge, where the jaw line would be, small sharp fangs protruded.

The points of the fangs left small cuts on the skin of Ruby's hands from her attempts at covering them up.

Yang felt pitiful.

Her precious sister was hurting so, and she didn't even realize it.

Ruby sniffled into her hands, trying her best to ignore the pain her tears caused when they pooled in the cuts.

Yang would definitely hate her now.

She looked like a monster, and there was no way Yang would want to be related to a monster.

She stiffened, and a gasp of shock slipped past her lips when she felt a pair of arms embrace her.

Ruby wanted to cry again, but this time not out of sadness.

"Y- You don't h- hate m- me?"

She managed to stutter through her sobs.

Yang rubbed a hand up and down Ruby's back, trying to get her to calm down.

"No. I would never hate you Ruby."

Yang said it with such conviction, that Ruby knew her words to be true.

Ruby finally wrapped her small arms around Yang, gripping her clothing tightly in her tiny fists.

"I'm scared." She whispered.

"Don't worry, I'm here for you."

Yang assured her as she held on tighter.

"I'll always be by your side."

Ruby clutched onto Yang as if she would disappear, knuckles turning white.

"Yang?" She mumbled against her clothing. "Can you sing to me again?"

"Sure thing Rubes."

Yang was able to sing out most of her song, making up the rest of the lyrics as she went along.

Soon Ruby had fallen asleep in her arms, snoring softly against her.

Yang smiled down at her sister, stroking her hair lovingly.

"Happy birthday sis."

* * *

**A/N: After reading my pal's writing of this AU, I felt like implementing the sisters bonding idea in this chapter. Give me some criticism, I know I need it. Especially since I have no idea where I'm taking this story XD. Going with the flow, y'know? Anyways thanks for reading!**


	4. Good Things Don't Come Easy

**A/N: ...Is there...anyone out there...?**

**Hahah. Hey guys, how's it going? It's been awhile hasn't it? Well, at least for this story. Many of you have been waiting an eternity for me to update this, well guess what here it is!**

**Lemme get some formalities outta the way before I talk about story stuff. **

**Thank you all who have stuck around since the beginnings and for those of you recently following this even when the update datelast said August something or other. I didn't expect ya'll to even find this hibernating fic so ya make me purdy darn happy with the amount of followers this has gotten. *sniffles* I'm grateful for your patience and interest in this. **

**Now that I've got that out, there's some things I should mention about this story.**

**As you already know I'll be updating uber slow (no surprise there), so don't expect me to suddenly speed demon the next chapter out xD.**

**I did some editing in previous chapters and did change a few things, so it might be good to re-read them before going on. There aren't very many changes but there's a few details I altered that might affect what you remember of the story. So ye. You should prolly go do that.**

**Lastly I have no idea where I'm going with this story anymore xD. I've got plans and plots and whatnot, but as I was typing this chapter I realized things were going to be cray. Basically this story is gonna end up a lot longer than I planned. Funny how that works. Because of this I've been having trouble being satisfied with what I write for this fic; it took me so many revisions with this chapter before I felt okay with what you'll see once I'm done babbling. Thus if there's some sort of detail that doesn't seem quite right please let me know, even the lil things matter so don't be shy now. *nudges***

**Okay, okay I'm done now. Please enjoy this chapter, and once again thank you for reading. *smooches* ( ˘ ³˘)**

**Edit [02/16/16]: Grammar fixes and considerable tweaks to make chapter more consistent.**

* * *

It was another pleasant day in Vytal; sun shining and the breezes cool and gentle, with only a few clouds straying in the sky.

The students of Beacon were all a bustle, scurrying quickly to their classes with unusual eagerness.

It was two nights away from the shooting stars event, and today would be the first night the festival opened all booths to the public. Many of Vale's citizens were ecstatic for the festivities they could revel in.

The Headmaster roamed the halls calmly, sipping from his mug as he observed students shooting out of their final classes and speeding through the hallways to prepare for the festival.

Though some professors had sent complaints to him about the students' brazen demeanors, Ozpin had found their energy refreshing.

It was not every day you have students eager to go to class, if only in anticipation to spend the rest of the day having fun.

It was still early in the day for students to go out and prepare themselves for the festival activities, as the academy's curfew didn't allow students to remain outside for very long.

Ozpin stopped short in his stroll, musing over that last thought.

With a smile he resumed walking, pulling out his Scroll to send Glynda a message for her to make an announcement.

It didn't take long to hear the ping of the speakers drawing the attention of those on Beacon's grounds.

"Students, this is an announcement regarding the curfew placed upon you."

Glynda's voice could be heard echoing through the halls.

"As of today, students are allowed extended curfew in light of the recent circumstances pertaining to the festival. This will only last until the festivities end. We hope that you do not abuse this privilege after this period. That will be all. Enjoy your day."

It took a moment of dead silence before raucous cheers erupted all over Beacon Academy, students whooping and hollering in delight.

Ozpin took a sip of his mug, a gleam of mirth in his eyes.

Why not let them stay as children a while longer.

* * *

After the announcement, team RWBY were quartered in their dorm after having made plans with JNPR.

They had decided to go to the festival later in the evening, as the night time activities were rumored to be far more enchanting than the day light hours.

Weiss sat at a desk, an open textbook in front of her as she diligently wrote down notes from it. Her focus was solely on her work as her eyes darted back and forth from text to paper.

Blake occupied herself with a book as usual, situating herself on her bed and lying on her stomach. Her Faunus ears flicked occasionally and perked up whenever she got to an interesting portion of her reading.

Ruby herself was sitting on the floor against Weiss' bed, snacking on various sweets that mostly consisted of chocolate chip cookies.

She had a sketch pad in front of her, along with a textbook lying open on the floor that contained knowledge of all the presently discovered Grimm. She would sketch a drawing of the Grimm she was reading about, this method helping her to better memorize the Grimm's anatomy and keep in mind of their weaknesses.

Meanwhile Yang was impatiently pacing about the room, restlessness obvious in her behavior.

Ruby looked up from her work, noting how the rug beneath her sister's feet was beginning to bunch together.

"Hey, sis, if you keep that up you'll burn a hole in the floor."

Yang stopped in her tracks, looking to Ruby before looking down at her feet and noticing the state of the rug. After crouching down to adjust it she released a huff of frustration.

"You guys are so boring! Why don't we go do something?" Yang said with a slight whine.

Ruby set her pencil down, eating another cookie as she looked at her teammates curiously.

Blake was peering over her novel at the boisterous blonde, while Weiss chose to ignore her and continued writing down notes.

"Well, what did you have in mind?" Ruby asked around a mouth full of cookies.

This seemed to get Weiss' attention as she set down her pen and looked sternly at Ruby. "Don't talk with your mouth full, you'll get crumbs all over the carpet." She berated.

"Sorry Weiss." Ruby smiled sheepishly at her.

Now that everyone's attention was no longer on their activities Yang continued with her tirade.

"We have tons of time before we go to the festival."

She flourished her hands about as she spoke.

"And instead of going outside to do something, we're cooped up waiting inside our room. We've even been granted extended curfew, but here we are sitting in our dorm and being boring."

Yang crossed her arms with a huff.

"Okay, so what do you want to do?" Blake asked.

Yang looked at her for a while before hesitantly answering, "I…don't know."

Weiss sighed in annoyance, pinching the bridge of her nose between two fingers. Ruby giggled at her sister's behavior while Blake shook her head with a smirk.

Yang brought her hair around a shoulder, toying with the curly locks self-consciously.

"Well, I just want to do something that doesn't have us staying inside of this place all day. We do that enough as is."

Before anyone could suggest an idea a knock was heard at the door.

"I got it." Yang said with a tired sigh.

She barely unlocked the door when it burst open with incredible force, making Yang fall onto her backside.

"HEY GUYS DO YOU WANT TO HANG OUT?! EVERYONE ELSE IS BEING BORING!"

Nora shouted enthusiastically as she barged into the room.

Ren slowly trailed in behind her.

"I did try to knock."

He stopped to help Yang off the ground.

"Sorry about this, but she wouldn't stop bouncing around our room. Like, literally. She was about to destroy the beds."

"It's no biggie, though you could've given me some kind of warning."

Yang said with a chuckle as she stood, dusting herself off.

The others watched as Nora pranced into the room cheerily, unaware that she had interrupted them on some decision making.

Ruby laughed at the sight and ate another cookie.

The crinkling sound of a plastic had Nora's attention, the girl focusing on the bag of cookies in Ruby's hands.

Without hesitation Nora leapt at her with a hungry glint in her eyes.

Ruby let out a yelp of surprise before the air was knocked out of her. She ended up on her back, lying dizzy on the ground.

Nora sat on top of her, eyeing the cookies all the while.

"Ooooh! Ruby, can I have some too? Ren and Pyrrha have been keeping all the sweets for themselves."

She looked down at the young leader with big pleading eyes.

"Probably for good reason." Weiss huffed under her breath.

Yang snickered at her sister's state on the floor, while Ren observed them with a smile.

"Nora, I don't think Ruby can share them with you when you're sitting on her like that." Ren said.

Nora looked at him curiously before realization dawned on her features.

"Oops! Sorry about that Ruby. Guess I got a little carried away."

She scooted over into a crouch next to Ruby, poking her side when the girl remained unmoving.

"Ren, I think she's broken."

As Nora continued poking at her side, Ruby soon began to sputter into laughter.

"S- stop th-that tickles!"

She flailed her arms in a weak attempt to bat the other girl away.

"Oh, lookie Ren. I brought her back!"

Nora continued assailing Ruby with her prodding, purposefully teasing the younger girl into fits of giggling.

"As amusing as this is, we were supposed to be making plans for doing something 'fun' today."

Weiss said in a very unamused tone, reminding her teammates of their earlier conversation.

This got Nora's attention, leaving Ruby with some time to regain her breath.

"We're going somewhere?"

Nora's eyes sparkled with anticipation at the concept.

"Well we were about to make some plans before you came in, so we haven't quite decided on anything yet." Yang said.

"Oh! Oh! I know! Pick me!"

Nora raised her hand into the air, waving it about enthusiastically.

"Alright Nora, do you have the answer to this question?"

Yang said mocking the tone of an instructor speaking to a student.

"Yes! We should get all fancy and dress up for the festival tonight."

Nora's eyes sparkled at the idea.

"Dress up, huh? What exactly are we talking about here? How fancy do we gotta be?" Yang asked.

"Oh, not too fancy. We either have to wear really pretty dresses or just some stylish outfits."

"Well, the first item of clothing Nora is referring to are not actually dresses, per say, they're commonly known as yukatas, and are a type of attire that is usually appropriate for these kinds of events. We've dressed in this attire before for similar occasions." Ren informed them.

All members of RWBY considered this information for a moment, each girl deliberating their options and desire to actually go out and do something productive.

"Well, I suppose it wouldn't be too terrible to partake in." Weiss said reluctantly.

"It sounds interesting, count me in." Blake said, putting aside her novel.

"I'd rather shop for some clothes than stay cooped up here." Yang said. "What about you Ruby?"

Everyone focused on the young leader, making her a little nervous with the sudden attention.

"Um, sure. Why not?"

Nora let out a whoop before rushing out of the room and into the JNPR dorm.

"We're going shopping guys!"

Nora could be heard yelling from the other side of the hall, along with a surprised yelp from Jaune.

Ren shook his head at her behavior before taking his leave.

Team RWBY was left laughing at Nora's conduct, albeit a tired sigh from Weiss.

Yang faced the girls, quirking a brow and speaking in a sing-song voice.

"Guess who's Lien we're using."

She was answered with a textbook flung at her head.

* * *

The two teams traversed the shopping district of downtown Vytal, the entire broadway was bustling with people and activity.

They had peered through various stores, searching for clothing they wanted to wear for the night.

Jaune, Pyrrha, Blake, and Yang had chosen to go with more casual attire, picking outfits that would at least make them comfortable for the night chill.

Pyrrha wore a maroon turtle neck sweater, along with a beige skirt and black stockings, and brown leather boots.

Jaune stuck with something very similar to his usual attire. He kept his favorite pair of worn out jeans and a plain white t-shirt, but wore the new black hoodie he bought that had a big peeled banana print in the center of it.

Yang picked out a pale yellow short sleeved shirt with a black dragon design that wrapped around the front and back. She also wore a blue denim jacket, black cargo pants, and white and light blue sneakers.

Blake's clothing consisted of all dark colors; a black long sleeved buttoned down shirt, dark skinny jeans, and black shoes.

The other four in the group decided on wearing yukatas.

Ruby had declared that she wanted to try something new, and Weiss deemed that it was a ceremonial custom to abide by.

Ren and Nora did so out of habit, since they made it a tradition to wear matching outfits.

Yang helped Ruby pick out a yukata, making sure it wouldn't be the one with only weapons designed on it.

They debated between a red yukata with a golden dragon crawling up on one side- Yang saying it would match her outfit- or a pink one with a white rose pattern on one side.

In the end Ruby went for the pink yukata, as the white roses reminded her of her mother's pale cloak.

Blake helped Weiss find hers, and the two picked out a white one that had a light blue fade starting from the bottom hem. On it was a design of two large Koi Fish, one orange and the other black, swimming up together on one side.

Ren had let Nora convince him to buy matching forest green yukata, their designs being two strange looking faces of deities' from long ago.

Satisfied with their choices, Weiss paid for most of the expenses. Ren and Nora declined the offer, as well as Pyrrha, paying for their own items.

Yang was left to pay for her own, simply being ignored by the heiress due to her comment earlier in the dorm.

While they traveled down the road toward the festival everyone chattered excitedly.

Meanwhile Ruby pulled Yang aside to talk in private.

"What's up sis?"

Yang looked at her quizzically once they were a distance away from prying ears.

"Yang, I don't know if I can keep the mask from appearing tonight."

Yang cursed under her breath, having forgotten Ruby's dilemma during all the excitement.

"Oh man. Don't worry sis, I'm sure I can cover ya. Just need a good excuse is all…"

Yang put a hand under her chin, humming in thought.

"Well you better think of one quick, because it's getting dark and my face already feels kind of itchy."

Yang could see the faint whites of a bone mask materializing against Ruby's skin as she began scratching a finger at the spot.

They arrived at the festival's main entrance when Yang spotted a particular stand, giving her a brilliant idea.

"We'll be right back guys."

Yang said to the others before hastily dragging Ruby off into the bustling crowd.

The others watched them disappear with puzzled gazes.

"Yaaang! Where are we going? I hope running away isn't your plan."

Ruby said in a whine as she clumsily stumbled along behind her sister.

"Ye of little faith sis." She teased. "I've got a great plan, you just have to wait a bit to let your mask form completely before we go back to the others. Also how much lien do you have on ya?"

Weiss stomped a foot in indignation as the others waited for the two sisters' return.

"What nerve! Leaving us like this without any explanation of where they're going. What if they get lost?"

Weiss crossed her arms with a huff and a grumpy pout.

"I'm sure they had good reason for their sudden departure." Ren said.

"Yeah. Maybe they needed to go potty really bad." Nora piped in.

"They did seem to be in a rush." Jaune said.

"We just need to be patient. I'm sure they'll make it back fine." Pyrrha assured making Weiss feel less uneasy.

"There they are." Blake intoned quietly.

Everyone looked in the direction Blake was staring at.

They didn't recognize the girls at first because they were wearing masks, but it was surely Ruby and Yang who approached.

No one could miss that mass of golden locks.

"Heya guys! Sorry for the wait. I needed to make sure Ruby used the restroom before all this walking we're about to do. And look, I got us these cool masks!"

Yang presented an armful of various masks that mimicked the ones on the Creatures of Grimm, some looking quire realistic.

Yang herself was currently wearing a Goliath mask.

Ruby wore a strange rendition of what was, as they were told by Yang, a Beowolf mask.

The red markings were an exact replica, and the glow they emanated seemed extremely realistic.

It covered most of Ruby's face with just the small space at the bottom, where a row of sharp fangs protruded, only showing her mouth.

The others picked out their masks from the pile in Yang's arms.

Pyrrha ended up with a Deathstalker and Jaune got a Boarbatusk.

Ren and Nora chose the twin black and white King Taijitu masks; to keep up the pretense of matching outfits.

Blake had gotten an Ursa and Weiss chose the remaining Nevermore mask.

Everyone was excited with their picks.

Though Jaune wished he had gotten an Ursa instead, as a way to mark his first kill.

When asked, Blake wasn't willing to trade.

They each wore their masks differently, either wearing their mask completely or tying it to the side of their heads.

Except for Weiss' case, which was not at all, as she tied it on a sash at her waist.

Together as one big group they traveled through the crowds and visited various booths.

Ren made sure to keep a careful eye on Nora when it came to the food stalls. He didn't want her to get sick again.

They played a few games, each one of them picking something they were sure to win at.

Yang tried her hand at an arm wrestling match, easily defeating the beefy fellow pitted against her, and won herself a large dragon plush.

Pyrrha tried her hand at darts, her aim impeccably accurate as she popped balloons taped to a target board. She won a coupon that allowed her to get a free dart board set at a local shop.

Nora unsurprisingly played a game of strength, using a mallet to hit a spring that would then measure the player's strength.

The folks gathered around to watch were awed when Nora nearly broke the attraction; its manager hastily shooing her away after shoving a stuffed gorilla plush at her before she could try again.

Blake attempted a game of concentration. It required her to move a small metallic ball through a wooden maze, containing a few unseen traps and holes as she tilted it every which way to guide it to the end.

She didn't quite make it, as the ball fell into a hidden trap hole, but she did well enough to get the medium prize.

From an assortment of hats she picked out one she deemed appealing enough, a top hat with fake black rabbit ears.

Yang then thought it was amusing to steal her bow and forced her to wear the hat the rest of the night.

Ren played a ring toss game, scoring all but the final ring. He picked out a small tiger plush, immediately handing it off to Nora who squealed joyously at the prize.

Weiss looked at him skeptically.

"Did you lose the last one on purpose just to get her that prize?"

Ren only smiled at her before turning to follow Nora as the group moved on.

Eventually they made it to the shooting booth Ruby had been wanting to try out.

Both she and Jaune played it, Jaune wanting to see how his aim would be despite never using a firearm before.

Jaune was terrible.

The boy missed most of the moving targets and barely even hitting close to the bull's eye on the stationary ones.

Ruby on the other hand was a pro, which was not unexpected to the others as they knew how well of a shot she was with Crescent Rose.

Ruby hit all targets in their center though not every single one a perfect bull's eye, but they were close enough that the stall's manager couldn't care less.

Ruby grinned and puffed out her chest proudly as her friends gave her praise.

Behind her mask her eyes flickered over to observe Weiss.

The heiress was trying hard not to focus on the prize she fancied.

However Ruby could tell by the way her eyes would dart quickly back and forth from it to Ruby how badly she really wanted it.

When the manager asked her which prize she wanted Ruby didn't hesitate to point immediately to the giant prizes that hung above her on the stall's awning.

"That one!"

The manager had to go through a bit of effort to get it down, but eventually a giant lamb plush was in Ruby's arms.

Ruby turned to face Weiss, well at least where she thought the girl was, for the giant plush she held nearly obscured her vision.

Walking awkwardly over in Weiss' general direction Ruby happily shouted.

"Weiss look what I got for you!"

Upon realizing what she said Ruby began to blush, glad that her mask was hiding it from the others.

She didn't mean to let everyone know she only played the game to get Weiss the prize.

Guess she got a little too excited.

She still couldn't quite see Weiss, but she felt someone's hands shift past hers and grab hold of the plush.

There was a quiet "thanks" as it was taken out of her hold, making a dopey grin grow on her face.

She couldn't see Weiss' face with the now sheep hiding her, but if she had she would've seen the bright smile the girl had as she cuddled against the soft fluff of the lamb's wool.

It was almost comical to see the petite heiress lug the giant sheep around as they moved along.

When Yang offered to carry it for a while Weiss vehemently denied.

The sight made Ruby happy, but she didn't want the heiress to trip at some point, and soon convinced her to hand the plush over.

Eventually Jaune grew tired after being out for so long, opting to return to the dorms to rest.

Pyrrha had chosen to go with him to ensure he would make it back safely.

The others entrusted them with their larger prizes to take back, Weiss reluctantly watching her sheep being taken away by Pyrrha.

The remaining group decided to split up into pairs then.

Each went with their respective partners, going around to enjoy the rest of the attractions before the night was over.

Ruby and Weiss walked among the crowds; two teeny girls in a sea of people.

Fearful of being separated Weiss reached for Ruby's hand.

The young leader looked inquisitively at the heiress as she did this.

"It's just so you don't get lost. Knowing a dunce like you, you would probably run off somewhere like an excited puppy."

Weiss looked to the side with a huff, her cheeks becoming a light shade of pink.

Ruby smiled behind her mask and gave a small giggle.

"Okay, Weiss. Whatever you say."

They visited various food stalls. Ruby wanting to try all the snacks before going back to Beacon.

They paused to watch folks play games in the other stalls as well.

Though Weiss couldn't help but play a game that resulted in her winning a goldfish.

It was a small creature, one that she carried around happily in transparent bag filled with water.

As they sat on a bench to take a break Ruby was asked a question she was fearful of hearing throughout the entire night.

"Why don't you take that mask off Ruby? I'm sure it must be getting uncomfortable. You've been wearing it ever since we got here."

Weiss watched her curiously, a tone of concern in her voice.

Ruby gave her what she hoped was a convincing smile.

"Don't worry Weiss, I'm fine. It actually doesn't feel too uncomfortable, and besides it's nice to be able to dress in something other than our school uniforms or combat attire."

"That makes sense I suppose." Weiss said with a nod. "I have to admit that your mask looks really interesting. A Beowolf huh?"

Weiss reached a hand out towards Ruby's face, poking the mask gently with her forefinger.

Ruby flinched at the contact, worried that Weiss would realize just how real the mask actually was.

Fortunately for her the heiress didn't catch it at all.

"I must say I do like the design with these row of fangs at the bottom here."

Weiss touched a tooth lightly, making Ruby internally fret over whether her partner would accidentally prick a finger on it.

"Um, hey how about we go get another snack."

Ruby stood quickly as she took Weiss' hand and led her off into the crowd.

Weiss began berating her about being pushy and having a terrible sweet tooth, though she didn't resist.

No matter where they went or how many times they separated to buy food or try a game, their hands would always find the other.

Fingers intertwining the longer they stayed together.

It became a natural action, and neither one realized that they had done it.

Despite the fact of the mask covering her face, Ruby wished that nights like this would never end.

* * *

Ruby was happy.

She walked along the street with a skip in her step.

The sun was shining and the breeze was cool.

Ruby felt as if nothing in the world could ruin her cheerful mood.

It had been a while since she could enjoy a peaceful walk around the neighborhood.

Her brother having caused some trouble before, resulting in her going into hiding for a long time.

She didn't try to dwell on her memories of being alone in those shaded woods, for today she was finally going out on a date.

Ruby squealed to herself in delight.

She couldn't believe it.

A date.

Yang helped her dress for the occasion earlier that morning. Ruby sporting black overall jean shorts with a red, flower print t-shirt and a cute maroon newsboy cap.

Her sister had often worried that she would never be able to integrate back into regular life after living in the forest for so long.

But with the help of her father and their uncle Qrow, she was able to attend Signal and had made some good friends.

One of those friends, Cordovan Roux, was whom she was meeting today.

Well, calling him a friend wouldn't be accurate, since they have been dating for a while now.

Today they would be going out on their first actual date though.

Now that they managed to find spare time from classes, and Ruby from uncle Qrow's extra lessons on scythe wielding, they decided it would be their best chance at having it.

Yang, like the older sister she was, had been a mixture of worry and excitement.

She was glad to see that Ruby was growing more confident around people and had manage to be in a relationship, but that didn't stop her from having a talk about beating him up if he did anything wrong.

Her brother was the same way.

The Beowolf was grumbling in her mind about the whole ordeal.

Ruby had him promise to behave, and so he remained dormant after that.

Ruby smiled at the memory of her sister's attitude, finding solace in Yang's continual support over her well-being.

She was 13 now, and could take care of herself, but it was still nice to know Yang always had her back.

She finally reached the destination of the date; the gates of a large park in Vytal.

She skipped eagerly towards the picnic tables, spotting her friend- boyfriend- sitting there with his back facing her.

His faux hawk, russet colored hair moved slightly in a passing breeze.

She could see that he wore his favorite leather vest over a dark t-shirt, and a pair of navy denim jeans.

Ruby smirked mischievously as she snuck up behind him and placed her hands over his eyes.

"Hey- Huh?"

Cordovan sputtered in confusion as Ruby giggled.

"Guess who?"

He smiled warmly upon hearing her voice, placing a hand over hers.

"Ruby, you surprised me."

He took one of her hands in his, pulling it down to place a light kiss on her palm.

Ruby squeaked at the sudden interaction, withdrawing her hands quickly behind her.

She sported a furious blush that made him laugh lightly.

"Van!"

Ruby said in a telltale whine that she only had when overly embarrassed.

"Sorry, sorry. It's just you're so cute when you blush."

Cordovan then stood up and stooped down to Ruby's eye level, his chocolate colored eyes gazing softly into her silver.

"Forgive me Ruby. I'm just excited that we finally get to be alone together without any interferences. It's been difficult not to be able to do things like that in the academy."

Ruby managed to get over her flustered state and smiled at him, bumping their foreheads together briefly before he straightened himself.

"I know Van. I feel the same way too."

Ruby then took his hand and began leading him towards the park path.

"So, let's get started with our date then!"

Cordovan fell into step besides Ruby, a smile ever present on his features.

Ruby couldn't help but giggle happily as they swung their linked hands between them, their shoulders bumping together on occasion.

"Okay, so I set up our picnic not too far from here. I have Ecru guarding our stuff from critters and people, so let's not keep her waiting."

Cordovan explained to her as they hurried down the path.

A tanned skinned girl stood defiantly before a picnic blanket and basket, her gaze vigilant upon anyone or thing that passed.

When she spotted Ruby her face lit up with a smile and she embraced Ruby in a strong hug as a greeting.

Fortunately for Ruby she was used to hugs like this from Yang all the time.

"Hey there girl, glad to see you were able to ditch that crabby geezer for once."

Ecru Phthalo laughed at the title she'd given Qrow.

"Heh, yeah. He was pretty understanding about it actually, though he did seem a bit disappointed we wouldn't be training."

The two girls fell into small talk as they spoke of their studies and Ecru's plans for the day.

Cordovan cleared his throat, a sound that was not very loud, but it was enough to bring Ecru out of their conversation.

He gave a pointed look towards Ecru and motioned his head in a way that suggested she leave.

"Well, I got to go now Ruby. Don't want to keep you from enjoying your date with Roo Roo here."

She looked at the boy with a playful wink, saying his name in a mocking manner.

"Oh, right. Well it was nice seeing you Ecru!"

Ruby gave her another hug before letting her go off.

"Yes. It was nice seeing you Ecru." Cordovan said politely.

As Ecru waved farewell and left, the couple settled themselves on the blanket.

It was quite a cozy spot, as Cordovan picked an area under a tree so that the shade would protect them from the sun's constant beams.

The date wasn't exactly eventful, but for the two it was something they greatly appreciated.

They talked mostly of their activities at home as well as little things that happened to them in classes they didn't share.

Ruby was thoroughly enjoying herself, feeling so relaxed without having anyone judge them or be strict about PDA.

After finishing up the picnic and packing everything away into a large basket, they decided on walking through the park's forested path.

It wasn't too surprising when dusk had blanketed the skies in shades of indigo, their walk lasting much longer than Ruby anticipated.

They were nearing the end of the path that would let them out of the park, when Cordovan stopped abruptly.

Ruby looked back to him inquisitively, wondering what caused him to halt.

"Van?"

Cordovan seemed to have been deep in thought, for when Ruby called his name he jolted.

"Sorry, I was thinking about something."

There was a brief pause as they remained unmoving.

"Ruby…can I- can I kiss you?"

He asked quietly, his eyes searching hers almost pleadingly.

Ruby blushed, shifting from one foot to the other shyly.

The thought of kissing Cordovan hadn't really crossed Ruby's mind.

Hugging, hand holding, and other small, innocent gestures were enough for her.

Ruby had known for a while that Van had wanted to take their relationship a bit further.

Yet she still felt that, even after two months of being together, it was still too soon for her to be comfortable with such an intimate act.

As grown up as she liked to say she was to Yang, Ruby felt like a child when it came to matters like this.

Cordovan watched her patiently, a small frown on his lips as he regarded her stalling to answer.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." He said ashamedly.

"Ah! No, um, it's just- I want to, but I feel embarrassed…"

Ruby poked her forefingers together shyly, a blush on her cheeks as she looked to the ground.

Cordovan approached her quietly, gently placing a hand under her chin and lifting her gaze up to his.

There was a soft smile on his lips and a warmth in his eyes that relaxed Ruby, made her feel safe in his presence.

"I don't want to force you, so you can push away whenever you want to."

He murmured as his face came closer to hers.

"I know."

Their faces had gotten closer and Ruby started feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

But when she pressed the slightest force to push away from him, Van instead pulled her those last few inches and their lips met.

His lips were rough but soft at the same time.

She didn't experience the sweet taste she had always heard about from others, or the sparks that would fly like she read in books.

Instead the kiss didn't hold any form of magic like that.

It was brief, and to Ruby it felt kind of awkward, but she supposed it wasn't entirely terrible.

When the two parted they couldn't help but laugh at their earlier anxiousness.

The two returned home shortly after, Cordovan walking home with Ruby to ensure she got there safely.

She first checked in with Yang, who was watching a movie in the den, to show that she returned home unscathed.

She decided not to tell Yang about the kiss just yet, not wanting her to make a big fuss over it.

Instead she immediately headed for their rooem after such a long day.

Ruby fell against her bed with a sigh, thinking over the date and the recent kiss.

She enjoyed the date very much, that she was sure of, but the kiss…

Ruby placed her fingers against her lips, a small frown forming.

* * *

"So, Ruby, what did you need to talk to me about?"

Ecru looked at the brunette curiously.

Ruby fidgeted somewhat, wringing the hem of her skirt and toeing the floor as she looked around the quiet alcove hidden deep within the library.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what a kiss should feel like."

Ruby said in a whispered rush, a blush rising on her face.

"Eeeeh?!"

Ecru couldn't help but take a step backwards at Ruby's words, a mixture of confusion and surprise on her face.

"Why would you think I would know how to describe something like that?"

Ruby covered her face with both hands, her face glowing with embarrassment.

Ecru smiled at her behavior and walked to her side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders good naturedly.

"Aww! C'mon now, Rose, don't be like that. You just caught me off guard a little."

Ecru grinned toothily when Ruby peeked at her from behind her hands.

"Now, tell me what has you asking me a thing like that in the first place?"

Ruby nodded slowly, taking a few deep breaths to settle her nerves before speaking.

"Cordovan and I kissed on our date."

Ruby began the sentence strong, but quickly shifted her tone barely above a whisper.

Ecru's body stiffened at first, but soon she relaxed and forced a smile.

"Well, congratulations should be in order I guess. I thought you two would never get smooching."

She chuckled halfheartedly at her own words.

When she noticed Ruby not reacting all flustered, but rather silent and forlorn, she began to worry.

"Ruby? What's wrong?"

Ecru watched her with concern before the worst case scenario sprung into her mind and she scowled at the thought.

"Did he force himself on you?"

Ecru said nearly growling, making Ruby wave her arms wildly in an attempt to ward off her anger.

"No, no! Van would never do something like that. Besides, it wasn't entirely a one-sided thing."

Ecru nodded in understanding, pushing down the ill thoughts she had.

Ruby sighed in relief, a tired sound that prompted Ecru to direct her to sit on the two seat sofa nearby.

"So, tell me exactly why you asked that question?"

Ecru kept her arm around Ruby's shoulders all the while, rubbing a thumb over one of them in an effort to comfort her.

Ruby was silent for a moment, considering her words and gathering her thoughts.

"It's just- When we kissed, and its sounds terrible to say this, but I felt nothing. There was no heady rush or sweetness like it's described in those silly romance films and novels, and I didn't feel any different after it. I don't know if that's normal for a first kiss because I've only had this one, and there's nothing for me to compare it to."

Ruby's voice became shriller as she went on telling her best friend about her worries.

It wasn't until Ecru laid a hand over one of her own that she refocused on her friend smiling assuredly at her.

"Ruby, you're worrying yourself a bit too much over this."

Ecru sighed as she pulled her hand away to rub the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Now, I know it may not be my place to say something like this, but have you ever considered that maybe you don't like Cordovan as more than a friend?"

Ruby considered her words carefully, mulling over them as she went through a string of memories in her mind.

All of them seemed to back up the notion.

She had never really considered it before. How her relationship with Van wasn't much different than how she treated her other guy friends, aside from the more intimate gestures of course.

She began to realize that it was truly a one-sided relationship, where Cordovan was the one always initiating the intimate gestures she otherwise would not have.

"Does this make me a bad girlfriend?"

Ruby looked to Ecru earnestly, her silver eyes wide and shining with oncoming tears.

Ecru waved her arms wildly.

"No, no. Of course you're not. Don't ever think that."

Ruby lowered her head and sighed.

"Hey now, don't be like that. Uh, maybe because it's only your first time you're not used to it. So you can't be so disheartened about it just yet."

Ruby nodded slowly but remained unconvinced.

Ecru hated seeing her friend so distressed and decided to go with another approach.

"I'm probably going to regret this." She said under her breath.

"Hey Ruby I have an idea, and you don't have to agree to it or anything, but it might help you get out of this dilemma."

Ruby looked up at her best friend with hopeful eyes.

"Anything is probably better than nothing."

"Um, okay I know this is going to sound weird but I thought maybe you could try kissing someone else to see if you get any feeling from that."

Ruby's face turned red at the thought of kissing another guy just to test if it "felt right".

"I-I can't do that! That's just too embarrassing, plus who am I going to find that would be okay with me suddenly kissing them anyways?"

Ecru fidgeted under Ruby's gaze, shyly looking straight into her eyes.

"Me."

Ruby tilted her head to the side confused.

"But you're a girl? We're both girls. Wouldn't that be kind of different?"

Ecru had to stifle her laughter at Ruby's naivety.

"That's kinda the point silly. Besides I wouldn't mind it too much if it were with you, and I wouldn't want you going around kissing a bunch of random boys either."

Ruby couldn't help but giggle at Ecru's words.

"Yeah, it would be weird. Plus Van would get mad. I guess if it's with another girl though he wouldn't mind as much. Plus we're best friends, so it's not like there's anything to worry about."

Ruby said enthusiastically while Ecru chuckled nervously.

"Yeah…Well, um, are you ready then?"

"I suppose…I'm not sure how to go about this kind of thing with another girl. I never would have expected to do something like this before."

"Well then I'll lead."

Ecru smiled warmly at her, taking both of Ruby's hands in her own.

"And if you feel uncomfortable at any moment we'll just stop and laugh about this in the future."

Ruby grinned back at her and nodded.

Slowly the two began getting closer to each other, leaning forward from where they sat.

As they inched closer Ecru was constantly asking Ruby if she was sure, her eyes nervous despite how confident she appeared.

When they were only mere inches apart Ecru asked one final time.

"Are you completely positive Ruby?"

Her breath tickled Ruby's skin, sending a buzzing feeling through her mind.

"I could always-"

"You talk too much."

Ruby whispered before closing the gap between them.

Ecru's lips were soft.

So soft, and warm, and inviting.

Ruby felt far more comfortable like this, with her, than she did with Van.

It was an odd sensation and Ruby found herself wanting more of it.

Unfortunately the kiss was cut short, as they were separated roughly by another person.

Ecru was thrown towards the ground away from Ruby, who was being held in place on the sofa by a firm grip.

After recovering from her shock she looked up to see an irate Cordovan glaring over at Ecru.

For the first time since being with him Ruby felt afraid.

Before she could say anything to him, the boy walked over to Ecru, grabbing her roughly by her arm and speaking to her in a dangerous tone.

"I knew it. I knew it would only be a matter of time before you'd tried to corrupt Ruby's mind."

Ruby blinked in surprise.

Corrupt her?

Ecru had done nothing but given her advice.

Perhaps it was the kissing that he was referring to, but how would a kiss between friends corrupt her?

A yelp from Ecru pulled her from her thoughts as Cordovan yanked her up to eye level.

"You thought you could get away with your little secret, but I know what you are, and I know what you're trying to do. It won't work because Ruby is mine."

Ecru whimpered and Cordovan continued to growl at her.

Was that him growling?

Why was he looking at her funny?

Ruby felt her throat rumble with a sound that wasn't her own and her body began to fill with an unbridled fury she couldn't control.

_No. Oh no. Not now. Don't come out now._

"Stop."

Ruby said aloud more to herself than to Cordovan.

Her voice coming out in a strangely rough timbre instead of her girlish tone.

Cordovan dropped Ecru, his eyes looked pained for a brief second before wrath returned to them, his rage blinding him to Ruby's odd behavior.

"Oh. So you're going to go against me too? You're just like her aren't you? I can't believe you. After how long we've been together I never thought you'd turn around and betray me."

As Cordovan kept ranting about Ruby's betrayal the Beowolf inside her grew angrier.

_No. Stop. Don't come out. Everything's fine, I can handle this. _

Ruby pleaded with her brother.

_No. You cannot. _

A rough voice answered.

Ruby didn't know that her eyes had already turned a glowing red.

Her canine teeth were becoming sharp fangs that hid behind her lips, and her voice was the a scratchy grumble when she spoke.

"Everything is fine. We can all just sit down and figure this out together."

Ruby tried to console Cordovan, but he would have none of it.

"I can't believe I thought I could trust you. You're nothing more than a dirty slut!"

_Oh no._

Ruby's control over her body was no longer in her own possession.

The Beowolf took over and grabbed Cordovan by the throat with unrelenting force.

Fortunately Ruby's body was still in a human form, keeping her secret hidden, but at the moment that was the least of her worries.

She was surprised that her brother hadn't already snapped Cordovan's neck.

Perhaps that was due to the fact that they were still in her weaker body rather than Grimm form.

"_You think you're tough shit._"

A low guttural sound emanated from Ruby's mouth, her brother speaking through her lips with a snarl.

"_I bet you wouldn't be saying anything after I crush your windpipe._"

Cordovan gasped and struggled at Ruby's insane grip and strength.

After all the time he spent with her he never knew Ruby to display such ferocity.

Looking into those glowing red eyes that were burning through to his very soul, he had a strange sense it wasn't Ruby he was looking at anymore.

Internally Ruby was freaking out, unable to stop the Beowolf from slowly murdering her friend.

Luckily Ecru tackled into her, catching them both off guard, but giving Ruby enough time to regain control.

Cordovan was hacking and wheezing violently on the floor, holding his throat as he tried to gasp for air.

Ecru was trembling on the floor, afraid to meet anyone's eyes.

It took a long time, but eventually Cordovan recovered enough to breathe normally.

He stood up and looked between the two girls.

"I hope you're both happy."

He looked pointedly at Ruby, who only averted her gaze.

"Never come near me again."

He said it with such spite that Ruby had almost felt like crying.

He then turned around and left the two girls alone.

They didn't move for a long moment, neither one sure how to approach the other.

"I think Van- I mean- Cordovan has the right idea. We should just stay away from each other for a while."

Ecru looked up at Ruby, who was shocked and hurt by her words, but she still managed a sad smile towards friend.

"It's the best thing to do."

Ecru nodded slowly, tears forming in her eyes.

Ruby wasn't sure what to do, not quite ready to approach her friend after all that had happened, but she desperately wanted to comfort her.

Instead she turned away and left with a quiet goodbye.

The sounds of Ecru softly sobbing echoed after her.

Ruby informed her family about the events that day.

Her uncle Qrow somehow convinced the two students and Cordovan's family that Ruby must have some traits in her Semblance that were similar to Yang's.

The Roux family believed this, though it didn't stop them from putting some sort of restraining order on Ruby's family so that he could study safely at the academy.

Ecru and Ruby maintained their friendship, though it was shaky and neither girl could never see each other the same way again.

Ruby had noticed that Ecru was often conflicted with being alone together.

Sometimes when they were alone, the two girls would share very brief and often timid kisses. Then other times they would avoid any type of contact with each other, remaining in an awkward silence.

Eventually Ecru's family moved to another city, due to her parents pursuing a better job opportunity.

Eventually Ruby realized something about the kisses they had shared, though she had never noticed it before.

She understood now the reason why she couldn't be overly intimate with Cordovan.

It was because she simply could not see him, or any boy for that matter, as more than just a friend.

She told the only person she could trust with her secrets; Yang accepting her without a critical gaze and helping her fully come to terms with herself.

Ruby never bothered to form attachments with anyone since that fateful event. Withdrawing into herself again in hopes of keeping others from being hurt.

It had worked, until a certain girl came into her life.

A particular heiress who now understood her more than anyone else that wasn't Yang.

It was through her interactions with her partner that made her realize exactly how it felt to fall in love with someone unconditionally.


	5. You're Not The Only One

**A/N: So, I suddenly had the urge to finally put this out. I didn't fully edit it like I normally do, but just skimmed through it and changed whatever needed changing. **

**I sure most of you are ready to strangle me at this point for how long it took to finally get this out to you (whoops). Simply put, I've been having very frequent ups-and-downs that have left me feeling like a blob that's incapable of writing/editing. I do hope that this chapter comes out to you with pizzazz and still leaves a good impression of this story. Gosharooney! Now I'm thinking about how long it'll be for the next chapter to be put out, because I certainly haven't typed it up yet (here comes the torches and pitchforks hahah). **

**I want to thank those of you who have been so eargerly and patiently waiting, goodness knows that you are wonderful folks who have suffered waiting upon this chapter from this charming devil. *shot* I want to give a shout out to _lacronton_ for leaving a *somewhat* recent review that boosted my spirits and essentially became a reminder to get my butt in gear and finally put out the next chapter. **

**I hope you find this chapter interesting and leave me with lovely and critical reviews.**

* * *

Academy life continued as it had every day. Albeit students were behaving more ecstatically than usual, due to the recent festivities. Students everywhere couldn't stop talking about what activities they partook in at the fairgrounds.

Their lack of interest and inattention to classes left professors somewhat miffed. Though it was under a silent agreement that every instructor chose to patiently ride out the turbulent waves of excitement.

After all, it was finally the night of the shooting stars.

The halls were filled with noise as students avidly chattered about the nearing event. Teams RWBY and JNPR were gathered at a table in the cafeteria among the other jovial students.

Nora, of course, was being the most exuberant in the group as usual.

"So, I was thinking we could all hang out on the dorm roof top to watch the stars." Nora stood from her seat, excitement bright in her turquoise eyes.

"If we arrive early enough we can claim spots more suitable to view from." Pyrrha added.

"Yeah, and if anybody tries to take them away from us we could always threaten to break some legs!" Nora hummed with eagerness as she sat down and bounced in her seat.

"I'm sure it won't come to that." Ren said as he looked the girl with a smirk.

"So, what do you girls think?" Jaune asked team RWBY.

"Sure." Blake said nonchalantly, her eyes focusing intently on the book she was reading.

"I suppose that will work, but we better have blankets or something to sit on. I don't want to get my clothes dirty." Weiss said in a huff.

"We'll be sure to bring some." Pyrrha assured her with a smile.

"Uh…We won't be joining you." Yang said tentatively.

This statement brought all eyes on the two sisters, who smiled nervously under their gazes.

Jaune openly gaped at the unexpected reveal, while Weiss eyed the two sisters incredulously.

"Really? You're not going to watch the stars? This once in a lifetime chance?" Jaune said.

"Oh, we'll watch 'em. We're going to go out to the forest and camp. There'll be plenty of room viewing the stars out there. Plus Rhubarb and I thought it'd be a good memento to watch in honor of our mom."

As she explained this Yang ignored the whine of her name from Ruby upon saying an embarrassing nickname.

"Oh, right. Someone did say it was going to be a new moon tonight." Blake said as she looked away from her book towards the two sisters.

The others nodded collectively murmuring things along the lines of "oh yeah" and "I forgot".

At least once every month, especially when it was a new moon, Ozpin allowed both girls to spend the night free from their curfew. As mentioned by Yang, it was on the night of a new moon when Summer had passed away.

Aside from their respective partners and select professors, the members of team JNPR were the only ones that were told of this fact and its resulting circumstance.

"I guess it can't be helped." Jaune said with a small shrug.

And with that the matter was quickly dropped, only to be seamlessly replaced with casual chit chat about upcoming school exams and study methods. None of them were aware of Blake and Weiss, who gave each other silent looks before returning to their own routines.

As a chime tolled for students to return to class, Yang had pulled Ruby aside and they fell behind to blend with the rushing crowd.

"Whew! I'm glad no one tried prying us for any more info."

"I think it's only because mom is such a sensitive subject. They didn't want to push it." Ruby said quietly.

"Yeah…I feel kind of bad for ditching everyone, but we've got our reasons."

Yang gave Ruby a reassuring smile and lightly patted her on the back.

"Right…"

* * *

Later in the afternoon, after classes were over, Ruby returned to her dorm to find Weiss alone in the room sitting on her bed.

It wasn't like it was anything unusual, but it was somewhat obvious in her partner's posture that she had obviously been waiting for Ruby to return.

"Ruby, can I talk with you about something?"

Weiss sounded subdued, quiet. Ruby felt that something was a bit off about her partner.

"Uh, sure." Ruby moved closer, standing in front of her teammate. "What's up?"

"It's about your camping trip."

"W-what about it?"

Weiss paused a moment to look down at her hands. With a small sigh she looked up again, her crystalline eyes imploring.

"Well, it's just that- I'm a bit reluctant to admit it, but honestly I had hoped we would watch the stars together." Weiss looked to the side. Her cheeks were starting to blossom with a blush. "I mean- together as a team, of course." She then added hastily as she glanced up at her leader. "Though I do understand your reasons, and wouldn't want to interfere in something so sentimental if you decline. I just thought it would be nice, like a team bonding exercise."

Ruby stood in silence as she regarded her partner. Weiss had taken to the habit of wringing her hands together as she waited.

"Weiss…" Ruby had begun, but she stopped short when she looked into those crystal pools.

Weiss gazed into her eyes, her expression extremely akin to Ruby's when the young leader would make her kicked puppy look.

"I've never been on a real camping trip before. Father would never allow it, with the White Fang being such a large threat. So would it be okay to go with you, just this once?"

Ruby was at a loss for words. She was not expecting something like this from her partner, of all people.

It seemed so jarring in her personality, especially when compared to the stern and studious heiress she was often used to. It was not as if Weiss had never behaved outside of those roles, but the instances were quite rare.

Ruby found it difficult to answer straight away. It made her wonder if this was the effect she had on people when she looked at them in such an earnest way.

She _knew_ that saying no would be the correct thing to do. That she should be telling Weiss this trip was solely a personal endeavor between Yang and herself. Yet it seemed too cruel to crush the look of hope in those bright blue eyes.

"I…guess you can come along, just this once. But we'll have to see if it's alright with Headmaster Ozpin first."

Ruby was rewarded with a dazzling smile from the heiress, making her decide that this choice was well worth the reward.

"Thank you, Ruby. If I'm able to go, I promise to be on my best behavior."

Weiss pushed herself off the bed to give Ruby a brief hug before going toward the desk by the door. She pulled out a textbook along with some notes from her book bag and immediately began studying, almost as if their exchange hadn't happened.

Ruby watched her partner with a goofy grin before the gravity of the situation settled heavily upon her shoulders. Before any sort of anxiety could render her mind a mess, the door opened to reveal the other half of team RWBY walking in.

Immediately Blake proceeded to discard her book bag at the foot of her bed. She then went to the wide bookshelf beneath the window, pulled off a novel, and quickly settled on her bed to begin reading it.

Ruby looked toward her sister curiously.

Yang was still standing near the door and returned her sister's look with a defeated expression. The blonde walked over to Ruby, noting how Weiss was humming a quiet and cheerful tune as she studied.

"She got to you too?" Yang said in a whisper, indicating toward the heiress with a slight jerk of her head.

Ruby nodded. "And I'm guessing Blake is coming too."

"Yep."

"I guess we better talk to Ozpin about this."

Yang carefully threaded her fingers through her hair as she released a steady breath.

"Geez, we're complete suckers."

After informing their partners that they would meet with Ozpin, the two sisters then left the room.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, their respective partners shared knowing smirks at how successful they were in convincing the sisters to let them join the camping trip.

* * *

Ruby and Yang stood before Ozpin's room in the staff quarters. If he wasn't up in his extravagant office on top of the CCT, or wandering the Academy grounds, then usually he could be found here.

Yang knocked a sporadic pattern against the wooden door. A beat passed before they heard movement from the other side, then the door slowly swung open.

Ozpin had a brief expression of surprise as he glanced between the two of them curiously.

"Why hello, girls. What brings you here today?"

Ruby shifted nervously, nudging Yang a bit with her elbow to urge her sister to speak.

"Well, it's about the camping trip for Ruby's condition." Yang said in a low tone, using her fingers as air quotes when saying "condition".

Ozpin discretely looked down the hall before ushering them into the room.

The two stood in the center of the room, Ozpin closing the door with a quiet click and taking a position behind a large mahogany desk covered with paperwork.

"Is there an issue that has arisen? Perhaps a perturbed professor or a petulant probing student?"

Yang tossed some of her hair over her shoulder, idly twirling the golden locks between her fingers.

"It's not anything like that, not entirely. It's about our partners." Yang said slowly, encouraging Ruby to now speak up.

"They want to come with us sir."

Other than a quirk of his brow, Ozpin remained indifferent.

"Well, that certainly is an issue." The headmaster picked up a mug that sat on his desk, taking a quiet sip from it. "And how did you handle this situation?"

Ruby dug the toe of her foot into the carpeted floor, looking at the ground shyly as she clasped her hands behind her back.

"We kind of told them that they could come—but only if we got confirmation from you." Ruby started slowly, then spoke quickly with a frantic wave of her arms.

Ozpin sat in his chair and hummed in thought, leaning back as he contemplated the circumstances. The two girls watched him with bated breath, anxious of what he had to say.

"I suppose it would be simple to just say no, would it not."

The sisters released twin sighs of relief, but Ozpin spoke once more.

"However, I think it would be a learning experience to see how the two of you handle yourselves under a pressing situation, such as this."

The corner of his lip quirked up as both girls groaned in disbelief at his words. Ruby was the first to speak.

"But, sir, wouldn't that be way too dangerous in having my Grimm-born traits being noticed?"

Ozpin took a seat at his desk, nodding knowingly before clasping his hands together and resting his chin on them.

"Think of it as an exercise. I think it is time to have you further improve your control over this ailment. We cannot keep things going the way they have been this past year."

Ruby pursed her lips with dissatisfaction, but she nodded in agreement nonetheless.

She couldn't keep taking the easy way out. If Ruby and the Grimm inside her were going to be stuck together for the rest of their lives, then she might as well train in strengthening the barrier between them in her mind.

"What if our partners _do_ discover Ruby's Grimm-born trait. How are we to handle that?" Yang said.

Ozpin remained silent, instead he looked each girl in the eyes before smiling.

"I suppose that will have to be something you and your partners cope with when it happens." A moment of stillness hung in the air as the two girls considered his words. "Now then, is that all there is to discuss?"

Both girls nodded, still seeming unsure of the whole ordeal, and Ozpin pushed himself up from his seat. He walked to the door and politely held it open. As the two walked out into the hall, Ozpin collected their attention one final time.

"I know this may seem like a callous decision, but I am sure that you girls will be able to persevere through this. If you can overcome this, you will be able to achieve much more in the future."

He gave them a reassuring smile before silently closing the door.

The sisters looked bewilderedly at one another as they stood in the hall.

"Well, this should be fun." Yang said in a sarcastic manner as she began to slowly trudge forward.

"I'm sure we can pull through this." Ruby began optimistically. "The Headmaster is right. We shouldn't let something like this beat us."

Yang looked over at her sister with a smile, moving a hand to ruffle her hair playfully.

"You're right, Rubes. We gotta keep our heads up and keep moving forward."

The two quickly returned to their dorm room. After giving their partners the good news they began helping their teammates gather whatever they would need for the trip.

* * *

"It's this way."

Weiss led the group deeper into the Emerald Forest. It was almost pitch black aside from the flashlight she held to guide their way.

A while ago they were dropped off at a location close to the verdant woods. Ruby had long since lifted her hood over her head, already feeling the effects of the new moon changing her features once dusk began to set in. She had then allowed Weiss to direct them towards a relatively safe location that was marked on their map.

They were headed toward a site that was different than the usual location the two sisters occupied. After all, their partners would grow suspicious of the several clawed up tree trunks that were in the old area they frequented. It would be really troublesome trying to explain that.

Giving Weiss the task of navigating was also simply a way to keep her partner engaged in the task. It would keep her from noticing and asking why Ruby was wearing her hood up at such an unusual time. Ruby also made sure to keep her face out of Blake's line of sight, but Yang did well in preoccupying the Faunus with tall tales of her times at clubs and other similar ventures.

Of course, with Weiss' terrible sense of direction, they were being led somewhat off track. Ruby hid a smile behind her hand as she reminisced their time during initiation, where Weiss was in a much similar predicament.

Although the others had tried to assist her, Weiss would simply brush them off with the belief that she would figure it out soon enough. Ruby thought that it was times like this where her stubbornness was a rather endearing trait.

"Are you sure we're actually going the correct direction this time?" Blake asked with a hint of exasperation.

"I'm positive it's this way."

"Only fools are positive." Yang said with a snicker.

"Well, with that overflowing positive attitude of yours, you must be quite a fool." Weiss said with a scoff, as she turned her nose up smugly.

"I'm not sure if I should be flattered or offended…" Yang rubbed the back of her neck with a bewildered expression.

"I think we're headed off course." Blake repeated.

Weiss threw her hands into the air and groaned.

"Fine, fine! I know I'm not the greatest with directions, so if it'll make you feel better someone else can take the lead now."

Weiss crossed her arms and looked at the ground with a pout.

Ruby giggled at her theatrics, carefully sidling up next to her as she wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "It's okay, Weiss. Getting lost is part of the experience." She said while giving a slow flourish with her other arm.

Yang took the map from the heiress' hands and examined it. "Ruby's right. Besides that, I think I may have marked this map a bit wrong."

Yang chuckled sheepishly as she received a glare from Weiss, an eye-roll from Blake, and a giggle from Ruby.

"Unbelievable. You really are a fool." Weiss said.

"Well lucky for us, your bad sense of direction actually took us toward our destination." After making a few adjustments to the map, Yang moved over to her partner. "Alright Blakey, since you can see in the dark better than us, you can lead the way."

Yang showed the Faunus girl the updated map and Blake took it while moving forward. It didn't take long after that for the team to arrive where they needed to be.

It was a small clearing in the dense woods, with the ground flat enough to be a suitable camping site. Above the area they could see the sky, no trees or branches were blocking their line of sight.

"Wow! This is awesome." Ruby gazed up at the starlit sky with awe.

"It's not as bad as I imagined it'd be." Weiss said impressed.

Setting down the single large backpack they brought, Yang set about preparing the only tent they had.

"I actually found this place when I was on a solo training mission a while back. I figured since this is the first time you girls are with us it'd be nice to commemorate the occasion by having a new camp site."

Blake then placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder, gaining her attention. "It's a great spot, Yang. I'm glad you kept us in mind."

Yang coughed lightly into her hand while Blake smiled appreciatively at her. "Uh, yeah. No biggie." Yang hastily returned her focus on the tent, hoping that Blake didn't catch on to her shyness, before calling out to the others. "Oh, yeah. We're also going to need firewood for the night. Someone should gather some stones for the fire pit while the others gather kindling and stuff."

"I'll go look for the stones. I think I can hear a stream nearby." Blake's bow twitched as she said this.

"Ruby and I can go about gathering the firewood then." Weiss pointed her flashlight into the tree line and was already dragging the younger girl off with her. Meanwhile Ruby was desperately holding onto her hood to keep it from slipping off.

"Alrighty then. Keep on your toes, and make sure to call or send a message on your Scrolls if something comes up."

All made a gesture toward their respective weapons and said a unanimous word of affirmation before disappearing into the brush.

Ruby and Weiss traveled a considerable distance from the camp, gathering up any suitable branches or dried leaves that they could find. Ruby made sure to keep a comfortable distance between herself and Weiss, making sure it wasn't too obvious that she was keeping her partner from seeing her face.

Weiss carried the flashlight in one hand as she swept it across the dense foliage. It was the noticeable glint of something metallic, something unnatural to this forest, which caused her to pause.

"Ruby, do you see that?"

The brunette slid up beside Weiss, who continued to angle her light towards the shiny object. Cautiously the two approached it, discovering that it was a silver flask.

Weiss picked up the object, examining the open container and finding it empty. The strong smell of alcohol wafted out from inside.

"It looks like we're not the only ones camping out here." Weiss said.

Ruby took a few steps through some bushes, calling to Weiss shortly after. "I think you're right, Weiss. Take a look at this."

Weiss held onto the flask and pushed past the leaves and branches to stand beside her partner. They stood in a clearing that was much smaller than the one they had currently occupied.

Scattered about in a haphazard mess, there was some clothing and a fallen foldable chair near a dying campfire. There was also a pot set over the glowing embers, containing an unknown, burnt and soupy looking goop. Not too far from that was a small tent that was only big enough to fit one person inside.

Weiss moved further in to set the chair upright and placed the flask in a pouch on the back, while Ruby warily approached the tent.

"Hello? Is anybody here?" Peeking into the tent, Ruby found that it was unoccupied. Whoever was camping here must have stepped out for the moment.

"We should probably go." Weiss said as she looked around the camp skeptically, noticing how the night time wildlife had become incredibly silent.

Ruby also sensed how eerie it had become with the abrupt hush that fell around them. She shook her head in agreement with Weiss, and was taking a step back when the sound of a twig snapping alerted their attention.

Ruby used her Semblance to swiftly return to her partner's side, the pale girl shining her flashlight in the general direction the noise came from. The rustle of bushes led her light to illuminate an area behind the tent.

"Um, hello?" Ruby called out carefully.

At the sound of her voice the movement halted, and then all they saw was the familiar red glow of a Grimm's eyes.

Ruby immediately dropped the firewood they had gathered in favor of her Crescent Rose, swiftly unfurling her scythe in one neat spin before steadying it into the ground.

Weiss shifted her stance to accommodate with Myrtenaster, which she now held in her left hand; the flashlight remaining active in her right.

A low growl was heard before the monster burst forth from the bushes. The two Huntresses were briefly caught off guard by the immense size of the Grimm.

It was an Ursa Major standing before them on its hind legs, red eyes fiercely glowering down at the small girls.

The beast took a swipe at the girls with a large paw, the two Huntresses easily dodging it by rolling towards different directions. Weiss had dropped the flashlight, but the object still maintained its beam of light on the beast.

On the right side of the Grimm, Weiss hurriedly summoned a Glyph that increased her agility, allowing her to dash in close to strike the beast's chest multiple times with Myrtenaster. The Ursa roared in irritation, attempting once more to swipe at the heiress, but Weiss was swifter and managed to dodge it effortlessly.

Ruby went into action then, coming from the left as she leapt into the air and brought down her scythe in a powerful swing. There was a loud clang of metal against bone, as the Ursa somehow moved accordingly to her strike, causing Ruby to strike its armor plating instead of flesh.

Releasing a discontent growl Ruby fired off her sniper rifle and flew backwards, away from the Grimm's incoming razor claws. Her hood managed to stay up even during all this commotion, which was fortunate since she could feel the bone mask gradually prickling its way over her face due to the stress of battle.

Weiss summoned another Glyph and aimed her rapier towards the Ursa, firing off a trajectory of Dust powered shots that were strengthened by her Glyph. The Grimm raised its reinforced bony forearms to block the projectiles, effectively defending against any major hits.

Ruby observed the Ursa carefully during this moment. This particular Grimm wasn't as slow or dim-witted as many of the Grimm they've fought before. Its movements were predictable at first, but now they seemed methodical—intelligent. The creature was beginning to easily ward off their attacks, and Ruby was feeling anxious.

There was a sensation of prodding in her mind, and Ruby knew all too well that the Grimm inside was attempting to take over. Distracted, Ruby rushed at the Ursa in a thoughtless maneuver by using her Semblance to go into a slide as she attempted to cut at its hind legs. Yet even this sporadic plan seemed to be expected by the Ursa, as it immediately fell onto all fours with its jaws snapping menacingly.

In that moment Weiss summoned a Time Dialation Glyph to increase her speed. She flashed towards her partner, managing to shove her out of the way before she would encounter those strong jaws. Despite this change of course it didn't stop the Ursa from quickly opting to swing out a heavy paw and striking Weiss.

"Weiss!" Ruby shouted out in terror as her partner was flung against the trunk of a tree and fell motionless at its base.

The Ursa was slowly approaching the fallen Huntress, but Ruby was determined to stop it.

Uttering a fierce battle cry that was akin to an animalistic roar, Ruby used her Semblance to rush at the creature's back. The Ursa turned toward the noise but it wasn't fast enough to deter the attack, as Ruby brought down her scythe in a powerful swing. She successfully cut into flesh as blood sprayed forth, the Ursa bellowing out a pained howl.

Ruby dashed toward her partner as the creature flailed uselessly in pain, opting to stumble toward the bushes behind the tent.

Feeling for Weiss' pulse, Ruby was relieved to find that her partner was merely asleep. Though she would definitely wake up feeling sore and bruised.

Setting her partner upright, Ruby removed her cloak and folded it so Weiss could more comfortably against the tree. She then turned towards the direction the Ursa took off in, the bone mask contrasting greatly in the dark forest. There was a glint of anger in her eyes, the pigmentation of red wholly absorbing silver.

_I'll rip it to shreds._

It was the mixed guttural tone of the Beowolf with her own voice that echoed in her mind.

Ruby gripped her scythe tightly and moved through the bushes where the Ursa was last seen. She didn't get far before releasing an irritated growl as she felt herself losing control due to her unhindered emotions.

Ruby returned Crescent Rose to its compact form, before stumbling forward to her knees and dropping it as her body began trembling violently. Her fiery red eyes glowed briefly with a fierce light as she hissed and gasped in pain, her body burning like an intense flame.

Hair grew all over her body as cloth and fur merged into one form. Her limbs were also elongating, with the sound of bones popping and cracking to accommodate the new anatomy. Through blurred vision she watched as her hands became claws and felt her face grow into a long muzzle that merged with the sharp rows of fangs on the bone mask.

The world faded into a bright white before everything turned black and her mind fell dormant. It wasn't long after when Ruby regained consciousness in the mind of the Beowolf. She detected the sense of rapid motion, and looking through the monochromatic vision of the Grimm, Ruby could see the trees rushing past.

Suddenly there was a flash of claws striking white bone as the Beowolf was engaged in combat with the same Ursa Major from earlier. She wasn't sure of how much time had passed as they fought, but the Ursa was becoming exhausted with the onslaught of strikes from the Beowolf.

They were moving so fast that the Ursa had no time to react to every hit. Ruby wondered if their speed had something to do with her Semblance.

They had managed to ride atop of the Ursa at some point; digging their fangs into the other monster's neck. The Ursa bellowed out in pain before collapsing to the ground with a loud thud of finality.

The Beowolf leapt off of its opponent and circled the tired beast, its own labored breaths billowing in small clouds of steam before it.

The Ursa panted heavily, still alive, but utterly exhausted.

As the Beowolf lifted its forearms for a final strike towards its throat, Ruby had noticed something odd about the Ursa and quickly attempted to intervene.

_Wait!_

It seemed like a miracle that her voice actually affected the Beowolf so efficiently, making it instantly freeze in its action.

The Ursa seemed to shimmer a faint green glow before its fur began to fall off and dissolve away, bone and claws disappearing as well.

The process was quick, and on the ground where the Ursa's body had lain was a middle aged man covered shredded clothing. His Aura was already acting to heal the wounds. It would have seemed like he was never hurt to begin with, if it weren't for his heavy breathing cut up clothes.

Ruby reeled in shock as she gazed upon him.

_No way._

During this time the Beowolf had sat on its haunches, using one of its hind legs to idly scratch an itch behind its ear. The creature didn't care too much for the event that had occurred, though it did recognize the importance of it through Ruby's reactions.

Once she calmed herself down Ruby tried communicating with the Beowolf.

_Take him back to the camp._

Ruby sounded insistent, but the Beowolf only looked down at the man in loathing.

_Try kill us. Why help?_

The Beowolf growled as it stood over the man menacingly.

_It's the right thing to do!_

The Beowolf let out a discontent growl, as it considered Ruby's statement.

Grimm were known to be ruthless and unmerciful, so it was a difficult concept to grasp when told to oppose what your instincts were saying. The Beowolf looked towards the canopy of trees, thinking of the moonless sky that lay beyond.

If it weren't for the memories of "Mother" and her teachings, then the Beowolf would have ended the man's life then and there.

Looking back down with a short huff of reluctance, it lowered onto all fours and roughly lifted the man onto its back. The Beowolf felt Ruby's flooding sense of relief as it headed toward the direction of the camp.

The forest rushed by quickly, and once again Ruby was unable to truly determine how much time actually passed. It seemed like only a few short minutes before they were back at the spot where her scythe lay.

The Beowolf set the man down on the ground with an ungraceful heave. It then sniffed at its fur, wrinkling its muzzle in disgust.

_Human stink._

Ruby ignored the comment and attempted to have the Beowolf relinquish control. Unsurprisingly she was met with a force resisting her efforts. She then increased her vigor to push past that force, successfully breaking through the barrier that kept her from control of their body.

With an unwilling growl the Beowolf found its psyche being clouded as they swapped. There was a dim white glow that emanated from its body as fur and bony armor disintegrated into dust.

Moments later, Ruby found herself blinking several times as she supported herself on her hands and knees while looking at the ground. Her body felt sore and she could sense her Aura working to cure that fatigue.

She touched her face and examined her body, ensuring that there was no hint of her Grimm-born traits showing through. Once she was generally healed up, she quickly got dressed and holstered Crescent Rose before looking back at the unconscious man.

He had sandy brown hair that was in a Caesar style crew cut, along with a slightly unkempt beard. Ruby also noted a single scar that went along his jaw.

After making sure that the man was indeed well and alive she then rushed over to the camp. Upon arriving there she found the fire lit, and Blake was crouched down by a now awake Weiss.

The Faunus' ears twitched and she looked up warily at the sound of rustling underbrush, but soon relaxed at the sight of their leader. "Ruby, are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine."

"Where did you go?" Weiss asked as she tried to stand, only to sit back down and hiss in pain. "I woke up to find your cloak around me, and its wearer nowhere in sight." She added sternly.

"I followed after the Ursa and-" Weiss cut her off with a fierce gaze.

"You went off to fight that Ursa Major on your own? Do you realize how dangerous that was?"

Ruby laughed and self-consciously looked to the side. "Yeah…though I did manage to fend it away from here, so we shouldn't be seeing it anytime soon."

Weiss sighed irritably and shook her head. "You dunce. At least you aren't hurt."

Ruby smiled at her partner's concern before her expression turned serious. "That Ursa is the least of our worries right now." The two glanced up at her curiously. "I've found the man that camps here, he's unconscious, but alive. I need help bringing him back here."

Blake nodded and gave Weiss a gentle pat on the shoulder. "You fine for now?" Weiss nodded and sighed with exhaustion. "Yes. You two go on. I'm not going anywhere." Blake gave her a smile before going towards Ruby.

With some effort they managed to lift him up by the arms, wrapping each one over their shoulders and carrying him back to the camp. They set him down on the foldout chair,

"I messaged Yang about what happened. She says she's coming to us." Weiss said as she put away her Scroll.

Blake walked across the camp, looking back at her teammates briefly. "I'll go meet her halfway, make sure she gets here without getting into any trouble." In a flash she disappeared among the trees, not even any indication of a rustle as she left.

Once she was positive that the man was comfortably seated, Ruby then moved over to her partner and clasped both of her hands over one of Weiss' own. She lifted their joined hands up between them and peered at her with distressed silver eyes. "You feeling okay? It doesn't hurt a lot, does it?"

Weiss looked into those hopeful silver eyes and gave a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, Ruby. Just feeling sore and very, very tired."

The two remained in a tranquil silence, the noise of the nocturnal wildlife slowly coming back to life around them.

"I can't believe that my first time camping turned into another one of our hectic field trips." Ruby giggled at her partner's minor worry, and Weiss couldn't help but laugh as well. "It seems we never really get a break huh?" Ruby said while chuckling.

At this point Yang and Blake emerged from the trees, Yang immediately going over to the two girls with an anxious expression. Weiss had slipped her hand from Ruby's grasp unnoticed and placed both of her hands over her lap.

"You girls okay? Nothing's broken, nothing's missing?" Yang said as she approached.

The two smiled as the blonde fretted over them, anxiously hovering her hands over their limbs.

"We're fine, Yang." Ruby said to her with a reassuring smile.

Yang looked over at Weiss who confirmed her words with a nod. Yang sighed in relief as she fell to her knees next to the two girls. "Thank goodness." She grabbed Ruby by her cloak, dragging her near so that she could give her sister a strong hug, even placing a gentle kiss atop her head. She then gave Weiss a similar, though gentler hug.

"Our new acquaintance is waking up." Blake said, directing everyone's attention toward the man in the chair.

There was unintelligible mumbling as the man slowly came to. He blinked several times before his eyes gradually adjusted, squinting past the fire towards the girls. His eyes widened with mild surprise once he registered their presence.

"I don't remember having this many friends." He said in brusque sarcasm. He attempted to stand up, but groaned in pain as he plopped back down into the chair. "You know what? I think I'll just stay here."

He glanced toward the girls again, this time Ruby had moved closer to him as she prepared to speak with him. He looked at her, brow scrunching up in thought before clarity passed his features. "You…I know you, don't I?"

Ruby's eyes widened with surprise, the other three also looking among each other with varying levels of confusion.

The man leaned further back in his chair, hissing as his stiff muscles screeched in protest to the movement. "That's right. I remember you now." He looked at the young leader, green eyes deep and vibrant as the very forest they occupied.

"It's nice to see you again, Ruby Rose."

* * *

Today did not feel like his day.

The previous day had begun as typically as any other. Grab a drink at the nearest bar, get into a fist fight and- if he was lucky- lose, then shamble off into a nearby alley to sleep it all off.

To anyone else this would sound like the most terrible of circumstances.

For Jaxon Solidago it was life.

Despite the usual endeavors he cycled through each day, the former Huntsman found himself relatively sober today. He hadn't had a single drink in his system.

It was warm and bright- much too bright for his liking- and somehow he had found his way to the public park in this small town.

Slumping onto a bench, he leaned back and rubbed his temples to ward off the slight ache in his head. "So used to being drunk, that being sober is giving me a headache." He chuckled halfheartedly before looking forward again.

Forest green met with sparkling silver.

Jaxon blinked several times before he registered the face of a young girl.

She couldn't have been any older than seven.

"You need something, kid?" Jaxon meant to come off as intimidating, but his tone was gentle- if a bit gravelly.

He was always known as a big teddy bear when it came to kids.

The little girl shook her head rapidly, her short brunette hair swaying with the motion. She didn't say a word. Only continued to stare intently at him.

He looked into those innocent silver eyes for a long moment before sighing. He passed a hand through his hair, then patted to a spot on the bench beside him.

The girl looked at the spot then back to him.

"Don't worry, kid, I don't scratch."

He made a lazy motion of swiping his hand in the air, curling the fingers like claws. This elicited a giggle from the young girl, and he felt himself smiling in turn. It had been a long time since he had genuinely smiled.

The young girl sat beside him, looking up at him expectantly.

He had no idea what to do now.

He had gotten so used to dealing with incompetent adults and being a drunken mess. He wasn't entirely sure how to interact normally, especially with a child.

Lost in his musings, Jaxon didn't realize the small hand that reached out towards him. A soft touch against his cheek instinctively had him jerking away. The girl didn't flinch though, she only kept her hand suspended in the space between them.

"Does it hurt?"

Her voice seemed so small and quiet. It was a huge contrast to the boisterous noises at the bars, or even the gruff tone of his own voice.

He stared at her in bewilderment, not entirely sure of what she was asking. His silence prompted her to speak again.

"Does it hurt?"

This time he didn't move away when her hand touched his cheek. A tiny finger traced a long scar that went along his jaw. When she pulled away Jaxon wore a sad smile, focusing his gaze toward the playground ahead.

"No. Not anymore."

The girl gave an affirmative hum and nod, facing toward the playground ahead as well. They stayed seated on that bench in silence. Neither one willing to break the tranquil stillness.

The little girl swung her legs as they hung over the edge of the bench, humming a seemingly random tune. It sounded like a lullaby of some sort.

Jaxon turned to face her and was about to ask her what she was humming when the sound of another voice called over to them. "Ruby Rose, thank goodness I found you." He looked toward the source of the exasperated voice, finding a young woman headed their way.

This woman shared an uncanny resemblance to the young girl- Ruby as he just learned. They bore matching silver eyes and brunette hair. Even her voice felt just as soft as Ruby's, if not more mature.

Ruby's mother, as he deducted, went over to them hurriedly. Immediately she picked Ruby off the bench, the young girl giggling happily in her mother's arms.

"I'm sorry if she may have caused any sort of trouble." The woman gave him an apologetic look as Ruby squirmed happily in her arms.

"Nah. S'fine. She was pretty well behaved actually."

The woman sighed in relief, turning to Ruby to give her a stern look. "Young lady, how many times have I told you not run off on your own?" Ruby pouted as she looked at the ground with a furrowed brow and apologized softly. "Well, since you're safe I will let this one go." Her mother smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek, effectively making Ruby smile and giggle once again.

"Thank you, for watching over my daughter." The woman directed a warm smile at him, and Jaxon felt himself smiling for the second time that day. These two sure were infectious.

"No problem, ma'am."

With a bow of her head Ruby's mother turned around and left. The little girl in her arms waved back at him from over her shoulder and he gave a small wave in return, granting him a big smile.

Even after they were out of sight Jaxon had remained seated at the bench. The sounds of children's laughter and excited squeals filled the atmosphere around him, along with the occasional scolding of a parent.

He wondered how long it had been since he last reconvened with this part of society.

Sensing his thoughts were taking him down a dark road, he stood up and stretched languidly. Going at a slow trot towards no destination in particular, he couldn't help but smile a third time that day.

_Ruby Rose, huh? What a strange kid._

* * *

The sounds of distant twigs snapping and leaves crunching underfoot were the only things that kept him moving.

It was a moonless night, which meant the complete darkness provided him with cover, but that didn't stop the Huntsmen from coming after him. They hadn't found him yet, but he could still hear their shouts, and they had sounded too close for comfort.

If he was lucky, none of them would have to die.

He came to a clearing with a small pond, moving towards it and seeing his reflection. The mask of an Ursa mirrored him, its glowing red eyes vibrant. The Ursa then stood on its hind legs, sniffing the air experimentally. Gunshots were heard further away, nowhere near its location.

Going back on all fours the Ursa began to circle the pond, going parallel to the sounds of shouts and a struggle. It seemed that the Huntsmen no longer cared about him and had found another Grimm to exterminate.

Jaxon at last allowed his partner to carry full reign over their shared body.

They stopped here and there when the sounds of the Huntsmen suddenly echoed through the woods, otherwise making sure to stay away from them.

It was strange to still hear their shouts. Normally the Huntsmen should have taken care of any Grimm by now, especially since there was a team of them travelling together.

Continuing on a slow path, the shouts were gradually dying down as they either gave up or- in the worst case- died.

However, it was the sound of metal clanging against metal that alerted their senses.

Something was amiss.

Jaxon urged his partner to move forward, heading in the direction the sound last emanated from. Once they were near the location the Ursa remained hidden in the woods.

They watched the scene that unfolded before them, and the small Beowolf that darted from the scene. It didn't occur to them whether they should bother chasing after it. After several minutes Jaxon pressed the Ursa to approach the two bodies that lay on the ground. It sniffed at them experimentally.

They remained unmoving—lifeless.

Jaxon recognized one of them.

A woman, who was wearing a bright, white cloak.

* * *

It took him only a day to find the home to which the woman belonged.

He had gently laid her body in the back yard, causing a small commotion to attract whoever was in the home.

Even as he travelled far from the house, the echo of a man's anguished wails would haunt his memory forever.

It had taken him almost two weeks to finally find the girl.

He had first stumbled upon a cabin that was isolated deep in the woods. Going inside he found a marked map and some clues in a journal, which gave him enough of an idea to find her.

Once he got to the destination he wasn't too surprised to discover a small Beowolf in a cave not far from the cabin. The creature had noticed him, but didn't bother to react at his presence.

Its eyes seemed dull and empty, its glow faint enough to seem non-existent. He pitied it, even if it was a creature that was supposedly without a soul.

It took some time to coax the little girl he had met so long ago to come back, but by using certain entries in the journal he found, somehow he had managed to do it.

When he returned to that home for a second time he walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell.

Footsteps thudded heavily from the other side, and a man with short blonde hair greeted him wearily.

"Xiao Long residence, how can I-"

The man's eyes widened in disbelief at the girl in Jaxon's arms.

"Ru-Ruby…" Tears began streaming down his face, and Jaxon carefully transferred the girl into her father's arms.

Taiyang held onto his daughter in a close and gentle embrace, worried that if he let her out of his grasp she would disappear. Ruby remained soundly sleeping against his chest, despite how it heaved and the many tear drops that splashed against her cheeks.

After hearing all of the commotion a young Yang called from the kitchen. "Dad? Who's at the door?" After stepping out around the corner she gasped in shock as she saw the tuft of familiar brunette hair past Taiyang's arm. "Ruby!" She rushed towards the two, laughing and crying all at once. "Dad, ho…how did she g-get here?" Yang said between sobs.

Taiyang took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his eyes. "This man brought her here." He said while regarding Ruby with a grateful smile, brushing a stray bang from her eyes.

Yang glanced up, her features becoming befuddled. "What man?"

Taiyang blinked with surprise, lifting up his head. "Why, this man right here…" The stranger who had brought Ruby back to them was nowhere in sight. Seemingly vanished into thin air.

Jaxon stood in the distance, hiding behind a row of trees as he observed the family. Once they returned inside the house he spun around and started walking.

He really wanted to get a few drinks in his system and start a fight, but he wasn't really feeling it. "Damn it all!" Jaxon shouted angrily, but just as soon as his rage appeared it had subsided into a hollow guilt.

_She's just a little girl…she doesn't deserve a life like this…_

If only he hadn't lost those Huntsmen in those woods. If only he had realized sooner what was going on back then. He thought these things, but knew it was a fruitless endeavor to hold the blame on himself.

Jaxon's expression became furious, his jaw set and brow furrowed as green eyes glowed red for a moment.

He decided then and there that he would find a way to change society's view on the Grimm-born.

He wasn't exactly sure how he would go about it, but his resolve in the matter was enough for now to fuel him on this endeavor.

He would prove those history books wrong, that the Grimm-born weren't over-powered monsters.

They were just unfortunate and misunderstood souls.


End file.
